Used to be a great European company, now just another US corporate
Pros
Pay is good-to-very good depending on your location. Working is mostly remote and there are a couple of new offices that are fine if not a bit soulless compared to previous ones like the Bank. But then that’s a reflection on the company too. Free lunches. Decent discounts for booking.com but way worse than it used to be.
Cons
Lack of autonomy - everything is top down and measured and compared to within an inch of its life. Heavy management layers - I’ve been promoted in my time here and somehow I am now 3 levels further from the C-level than I used to be. So many layers of bureaucracy it’s impossible to get anything done. C-level - using their own enforced bureaucracy as an excuse to undergo mass redundancies at a time when profits and share prices are at an all time high. CEO - Gillian was great and made Booking a vibrant, fun, open culture than valued experimentation and fast learning. Glenn is the polar opposite. Culture - as above, the things that made Booking great have slowly been eroded by corporatisation. Offshoring - it never, never works but Booking have decided the people who made it what it is and gave Glenn his $60m yearly paycheck are the problem and need replacing by more expendable Indian staff in the centre of “excellence” - where the hiring bar has been significantly lowered. Promotions - not happening.