2.0
10 Aug 2008
Former employee
Hillsboro, OR
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook
Pros
ETEC division paid better than standard AMAT because ETEC's OT and on-call standards were inherited from Perkin-Elmer and AMAT was unable to move the ETEC non-exempts to AMAT salary standards without having a mass exodus of experienced people. Stock options were good when they were not "under water." Kaiser NW medical option was a great benefit! Good separation package at the time.
Cons
Lay-offs lurk at every downturn. Reviews are not based on your actual contribution to the business but rather on how an employee in a particular group fits on a performance curve. In other words, if everybody performs excellent in a group of 10, somebody has to fall into the standard or substandard area because the review is tied to the pay increase.