Pros
You might make more here than working at McDonald's, but probably not for long.
The benefits are decent, but the recent introduction of an HMO concerns me - if they totally eliminate the PPO option, I would have to find employment elsewhere.
Cons
Since Bret Snyder took over, Gore has taken a sharp downward turn into being a cold, unsustainable profit farm.
Money:
Despite posting record profits and launching supremely successful new products, wage compression is worse than ever. Newly converted Associates are making within $3/hour of the wages of 2-5 year Associates. Profit shares have been stagnantly, painfully low and infrequent. Most Associates have second jobs or religiously come in for overtime just to make ends meet. And, while a change was made to the annual performance review process that may have been positive, it was full of errors, oversights, and broken promises instead. Additionally, funding is routinely pulled from manufacturing and R&D to be funneled into leadership retreats instead.
Benefits:
While the idea of two week-long plant shutdowns during peak holidays could sound like a plus, it's not. Hourly Associates (manufacturing, direct low leadership, training support) have to use their PTO to cover part of the time off and lose their bonus holiday pay to cover the rest, despite industry standard insisting that if the company requires a shutdown, they (the company) should pay for it. The only alternative is if your team is lucky enough to be one that's offered overtime. These shutdowns were initially pitched as a way to level-load attendance (what, by eating up a fully week of our vacation time?) and minimize the impacts to manufacturing caused by maintenance and room moves, the latter of which never happen during shutdowns. (And to clarify: most salaried Associates are welcome to work through the shutdowns as much as they desire.)
The aforementioned wage compression and generally low wages also impact Gore's various retirement options, upon which much of their recruitment messaging rests. Add on the fact that, with all of Bret's recent changes, most of us are just waiting for the company to go public, and this quickly becomes a company NOT to stay with through retirement.
Safety:
Late 2023, manufacturing was hit with the announcement that our coverage under the inclement weather policy was essentially redacted. We were told that OF COURSE upper leadership cares about our safety, but if their all-knowing committee of salaried Associates feels we can safely get to work (regardless of where we might live, what road closures exist, etc.), we have to be there or risk disciplinary action. We also won't be told until MAYBE the following day, if we're lucky, whether this omniscient committee decided to take pity on us. This, of course, does not affect salaried Associates.
On a different note, HR does not care about the safety of Gore Associates or our products, but ONLY the safety of our profit margins. Attendance issues? Mistakes that cause delays but otherwise have no product impact? Enjoy your write-up! Harass other Associates, bully or discriminate against them, send them unsolicited inappropriate pictures, or come in and work on the line drunk/high? Not a problem, glad to have you on board! And if you're a problematic enough leader, don't worry - you'll just get transferred to a new team you can abuse!
And this likely isn't unique to Gore, but our worker's compensation and short-term disability programs are so prohibitive that it's nearly impossible to maintain your health while working here. Gore uses Liberty Mutual for WC and, after fighting you the whole way, won't take your pay to reclaim what you owe until your checks from Liberty Mutual expire. UNUM services our STD program and will seek out every opportunity to deny you coverage... even after you've been on leave for weeks. Don't even think about seeking accommodations, either - you'll just be ghosted by the HR rep in charge.