AbitibiBowater Reviews

Pros

Lots of freedom and variety in outside recycling sales representative position. You make your own appointments and come up with creative ways to increasw tons for schools.

Cons

Once area is saturated there is little that can be done to make your goals. People are using less paper.

Pros

The people at the individual locations are trying hard to work within the confines of this new leadership since emergence of bankruptcy.

Cons

No flexibility to run business. Every decision has to go to the corporate office. Benefits are no longer competitive to a corporation this size.

Advice to Senior Management

Give the leaders outside of the corporate office some flexibility to run the business. Employees lose confidence in their leaders and the leaders aren't leading, but being dictated to.

Pros

haven't really came up with to much anymore. before i would have told everyone to work here.really benifits not to bad i guess

Cons

the employee recognition isnt what it used to be it seam any more that everyone need to watch thier own backs and thier managers of each market because now its like a witch hunt folks mess up thier done, wow. dont understand what happened? if you are thinking about this company might want to reconcider your options. sorry about the spelling

Advice to Senior Management

does it really have to be like this didn't use to be .

Pros

Good work/home balance with flexible schedule.
Fair wages at hire and in beginning of career with company, although no raises in 3 years and none in sight and the cost of living keeps climbing.

Cons

No raises in 3 years.
Constant change in organization without results, seems desparate and grasping.
After emergence from bankruptcy, nothing has improved at all - still feels like we are in bankruptcy.
We seem to waste more money trying to save money. (no color copies, seriously? this is your answer to cutting costs?)
Low morale, sense of impending doom.

Advice to Senior Management

Quit cutting the workers and look at cutting the overload of Managers/Leaders. Way too many chiefs and not enough indians. Someone has to be left to get the work done. Employees do not have confidence in the Leaders and are beginning to jump ship. Very sad to see what we have become.

Pros

Independence to conduct your business as you should (if you work in certain departments)
Benefits
Coworker loyalty
Strong track record of positive results at the Catawba location

Cons

The business is too dependent on a declining newsprint market.
Executive management responding too slowly to market conditions
Bankruptcy
Frozen pay for 4 years

Advice to Senior Management

Don't penalize good performers for the poor performance by others.

Pros

The pay was good. Co-workers were very friendly and supportive. Never felt over-worked. Manager was supportive and helpful. Not too bad.

Cons

Possibly underworked. Some management did not treat employees with respect (being untruthful or secretive about what was going on within the company.)

Advice to Senior Management

Should try to use more transparency and acccountability. More open communication with employees at every level.

Pros

Not that many pros at this point. The Pulp & paper Industry does pay better than most. Under Chapter 11 Reorganization. Hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel until we come out of it.

Cons

In Chapter 11 bankruptcy so morale is pretty low. No raises in yrs, matching 401k suspended (bankruptcy), steady increase in health insurance costs. POOR FEEDBACK: Little to no formal or informal feedback on job performance. POOR COMMUNICATION: Very little transparency between "home office" and plants as to what's going on in the company (not just since bankruptcy). POORLY DEVELOPED REWARD SYSTEM: Projects are rewarded too richly if they come under budget and under timeline, even if means starting up too early and cutting out needed money. This encourages bloat money & time in the project planning process. NO TRUE START-UP PROCESS: No disciplined startup process (see previous project planning comment)

Advice to Senior Management

Be upfront with the state of the company. Telling employees to not 'worry about this' and that 'upper management will take care of it' is not good communication. This is our livelihood; we can take bad news, just be upfront.

Pros

Salary and benefits were good. The paper and pulp industry pays higher than other industries.
Positive experience prior to Company's financial problems.

Cons

Company filed bankruptcy and closed mills. Company did not pay laid off employees their severance pay. The Company is in debt.

Advice to Senior Management

Former employees are entitled to their severance pay. Some employees have 20 years working for the company and need their money.

Pros

Te Catawba mill is a good mill.

Cons

A dying industry with no opportunities except to earn a check.

Advice to Senior Management

Read a book about management.

Pros

Easy going management, not concerned about profitability as long as plenty of orders to keep mills full. Expenses are not looked at closely.

Cons

A Canadian company looking to reward canadian employees first with job promotions, perks etc. Information flow from top down often does not get to where it needs to be. The are in bankrupcy and the canadian paper industry is a disaster area. AB Lost $500 million last quarter (2009)

Advice to Senior Management

Reward best talent not only canadians. Drive for profitablity not just to keep machines full. Actually negotiate contracts rather than just cave in to price pressure from customers.