AMD – “AMD will get smaller before it gets bigger”

Pros

Interesting technologies, decent company, flexible time off, fairly engineering focused. lone competitor to intel on the cpu front and the lone competitor to intel and nvidia on the graphics front does mean that it is still doing compelling cutting edge research and development.

Cons

poor bonus and stock compensation, too spread out in terms of location. no espp, 401k match is now gone. apparently salary cuts. questionable merger in terms of payouts to on boarding ATI menbers. hiring freezes make it difficult to know whether an approved rec will actually go through, which makes planning difficult. too many contractors in critical software areas does not bode well.

Advice to Senior Management

focus on core businesses, clean out the dead wood