Alcoa Reviews

Former Employee – worked at Alcoa

Pros – Reviews on an annual basis, yearly objectives clearly stated, fine group of people to work with on immediate team, advantages as a big company are that everyone's heard about Alcoa.

Cons – Having worked for the company before it was bought by Alcoa, I could see life before and after. Alcoa seemed to make things more bureaucratic. Seems that the company got more impersonal after the acqusition.

Advice to Senior Management – People make the company, not numbers.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Alcoa

Pros – If you are looking for a old-fashioned, conservative work environment in a large company that runs like a well oiled machine Alcoa is a good place to start. There's lots of opportunity for lateral movement and physical movement around the globe. The benefits package is excellent.

Cons – The company is heavily made up of baby boomers. There's barely anyone under the age of 30. Thus, the work environment is a product of the baby boomer era. It's a rather conservative place that doesn't change quickly or easily. I wouldn't recommend it to college graduates unless they love heavy manufacturing.

Advice to Senior Management – The overall company is sound, but a lot of work environment changes are needed to address the hiring crisis. More clear job responsibilities and descriptions with immediate impact on the company are needed to lure grads. A more casual work environment would make the young feel more comfortable.

Former Employee – worked at Alcoa

Pros – Good work/life balance and opportunity for growth and career advancement Alcoa encourages employees to rotate jobs every few years to continue to build a variety of different skill sets and understand all aspects of the business. Most people find a permanent job at Alcoa with good benefits and never leave, which is good if you are after job security and want a comfortable living. The corporate culture is fairly laid back, with consideration given for outside of work activities. But, there are deadlines that people are expected to meet depending on the department. As long as you focus on getting work done, there is no need for face time.

Cons – Alcoa is a large corporation. Therefore, there is a lot of bureaucratic yellow tape to get through in getting things done. It is also easy to get lost in the shuffle, and outstanding work can sometimes get overlooked. Career advancement within Alcoa will most likely occur through "paying dues" either by working in a remote location or at a variety of different jobs to gain a broad business background. I know many current employees that have had to take jobs in far flung manufacturing facilities to gt the background before returning for their ideal corporate position. The company has some evidence of meritocracy, however, there is a definite sense of seniority throughout the organization.

Advice to Senior Management – Encourage employees through a merit based bonus and incentive program. Alcoa is very mechanical in the way things are done, give extra incentive to employees for thinking outside the box.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Alcoa

Pros – Learn about the commodities industry. This company is in the aluminum industry but you will learn how in general commodities work including oil, metals, foods and other commodities. You can also learn about the 'old school' way a company is ran. They try to do a good job, but still ran in an old fashion way.

Cons – Very heirarchial company, hard to move up based on skill rather on time put in. If you expect to move up the ladder based on your skills, don't expect it. You need to put your time in and they make it very hard to get hired externally as it is a highly desireable company.

Advice to Senior Management – Recognize talented people based on performance not on seniority.

Current Employee – been working at Alcoa

Pros – The benefits are awesome. Perhaps a bit on the overgenerous side. You also get to work with a diverse group of operators and engineers, not just diversity in terms of ethnicity, but also in personalities. When business is going well, there is also a lot of Alcoa's capital from a corporate level that the company can tap to make big improvements. Howmet is a relatively recent purchase for Alcoa, so there has been lots of investment in the company. That investment slows down a bit in tough times, but the big projects generally still get approved, more likely if that project is also important at a corporate level.

Cons – Management communication of the important things is pretty weak. Depending on which area you work, you may not get an idea of how the company has been doing month to month. No advance notice when they need to make a workforce reduction. The management heirarchy has been flattened to the point where a promotion often means going from relatively bottom-rung straight to senior management. Difficult to see a path upward through the company if that is your goal. Progression in responsibility is always there, and will likely come whether you were looking for it or not. As a result, it seems like a lot of the people get pushed beyond their limits. Corporate parents means corporation-wide initiatives, so there is the occasional trouble associated with trying to fit a diverse bunch of businesses into the same initiative mold.

Advice to Senior Management – The folks on the floor and in the lower offices are the ones that have the answers, or at least the ability to come up with them, so ask them what the obstacles are if they aren't telling you, and if they are telling you, listen to them. Helping your direct reports by eliminating roadblocks works better than threatening them when things aren't getting done on-time. Communication of how the business is doing needs to be more frequent and thorough, and you shouldn't be so loathe to deliver bad news.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Alcoa

Pros – A profitable venture, if you are willing to give up a good portion of what used to be your personal time. Due to the 24/7 nature of operations, many hours are required of the average employee. The company provides an above average benefit package, at a somewhat reasonable cost. Until one gets into upper management there is the opportunity for paid overtime, which can substantially boost earnings potential. The average employee still cares somewhat about the future of the company, and newer upper management is trying to bring about a change in attitude. There are, however, a large number of older employees counting the days until they can retire. This should allow for many future openings.

Cons – Apathy of employees brought about by treatment from upper management. Many employees are disgusted by being treated as children. Granted there are some who abuse thir jobs, but most are conscientious employees who, given some proper leadership, will work to improve the company. Alcoa has abandoned some of their older supervisors by changing the calculation of the pensions. Therefore, many are retiring as their pensions will start dropping if they stay longer. There are many in middle management who have limited knowlege of their job function, have minimal education, and have very little idea of how to manage or treat people.

Advice to Senior Management – Treat employees fairly and according to their abilities. Remember, they are adults.

Current Employee – been working at Alcoa

Pros – Alcoa is a great place to start your career. The entry level positions offer variety and the chance to learn much about the company. There are a lot of great people who work there, and opportunities for flexibility in your work schedule.

Cons – Departments are very different within the company, but for the most part it seems like communication is poor and there is not a lot of trust in management. Also, it seems to depend a lot on who your manager is. Some managers are much better than others and offer their employees more opportunities.

Advice to Senior Management – Focus on retaining talent, especially young talent. People tend to stay only a few years out of school and it makes it hard to recruit other young people when so few are currently employed.

Current Employee – been working at Alcoa

Pros – Alcoa used to be a great place to work....good benefits, competitive salary. Now we seem to want to be just an average company on these items.....and management wonders why we have problems retaining new hires.

Cons – CEO for the last 8 years, Alain Belda, has done a terrible job. Hoping new CEO will do better.

Advice to Senior Management – Regain the trust of Wall Street. Tell the truth. Quit wasting money on projects that are doomed for failure (e.g., inert anode). Close the New York office, move back to Pittsburgh, save the money we spend on Park Ave. rent. Sell the company jets, fly commercial like Paul O'Neill used to do. Walk the cost cutting talk.

Former Employee – worked at Alcoa

Pros – If the reason that you're working is to make a lot of money and don't care about your home/social life than Alcoa is a great place to work. There are always opportunities to work overtime (which is paid) over the weekends. It is also a smaller company so there is more of a family atmosphere. The company also instills a strong work ethic and trains their employees well, so if in the end you feel the company is not a good fit for you personally you will definitely have valuable experience to assist you in the next step of your career.

Cons – One of the most troubling things about working for Alcoa is the layoffs. You never know when they're going to happen and you never know who is going to be affected. It is also difficult to get anyone out of the past. Product is designed the old fashioned way - with grunt work (hence the overtime), and there is little consideration as to where the product is going to go in the future. Then the products that are attempted for the future of the company are out of scope and far beyond the capability and core competencies of the company.

Advice to Senior Management – Communication should exist more often than when layoffs are going to occur. The health and well being of the company is and should be important to the employees and this needs to be communicated on a regular basis. Also a plan for future product development needs to be designed, executed, and followed through with deviations only when proved that the current plan was the wrong decision.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Alcoa

Pros – Alcoa offers a very relaxed yet professional work environment. They have an excellent benefits package and are quick to recognize hard working individuals. Alcoa Locations are clean and green. Alcoa also actively participates in the surrounding communities whether it is giving out trees for earth day or having a marathon for a local charity.

Cons – I haven't run into any downsides, while i know that no company is perfect, Alcoa genuinely cares about its employees and that is a rare find.

Advice to Senior Management – Continue to work hard to lead and develop those working under you to make Alcoa an even better company.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend