IMS Nanofabrication: Anatomy of a Corporate Fall
Gut am Arbeitgeber finde ich
As of 2025: NOTHING! But before:
- People and Talent (the latter no longer exists, despite the announcement that 'we will reduce headcount, but keep the TALENT').
- The technology and innovation (also no longer the same).
- Challenging and interesting tasks.
Schlecht am Arbeitgeber finde ich
- Vision: blurry at best! The slogan 'we write the future' started to sound comic. No communication about the important decisions and layoffs. Incapable managers. HR has no empathy.
- Layoffs were random and based on favouritism. No measurable criteria seemed to have been used, nor communicated. THE ONES WHO GOT LAID OFF WERE RIPPED OF THEIR DIGNITY (Laptops and cards were snatched away, then escorted outside, just like in Hollywood movies!)
Verbesserungsvorschläge
- Somewhere in the trajectory from being a startup (which is funny, as the company started in the 80s) to a full-blown industry with 1000 employees (not anymore, duh), the management lost what mattered the most: PEOPLE!
- Focus on the actual technology, which is innovative and dynamic. Bring in people who care about the technology.
- Please, communicate everything properly. Stop blaming everything on 'uh oh, we grew so fast we couldn't keep up', and PLEASE TAKE RESPONSIBILITY AND BE ACCOUNTABLE FOR YOUR WRONG-DIONGS!
- Hundreds of people rely on the company. Don't make them suffer. Without them, your tools would have been nothing but chunks of rusting metal scraps. Stop lying to the employees that 'you will not be laid off', then fire them the next day!
Arbeitsatmosphäre
This is a company built on exceptional minds: people who are real, people who are inspired. The ones who walk around in sneakers and sweatshirts with a cup of coffee. They have built the most wonderful machines and solved the most complex problems.
There was an overwhelming sense of drive and passion during my early days in IMS. There was a lot to do, but there was a sense of purpose.
Generally, the working atmosphere used to be productive and inspirational.. until it wasn't.
Image
IMS is an important company for Austria and the EU. Given current geopolitical circumstances, the semiconductor industry is a central piece of the puzzle. IMS could not leverage this and build an image. IMS is not recognised even in Vienna (You might think it is because 'IMS' and 'AMS' sound similar, but I have gone further steps than that).
But as of now, any such attempts will backfire, thanks to the pathetic state it is in.
Work-Life-Balance
Heavily depends on the department and whether you are one of the favorites of manager. There are people who work really hard and some just walk around with nothing much to do.
The work-life balance will get much worse for operations as there are many tools to be kept up and running with not many people after the layoffs.
Karriere/Weiterbildung
IMS gives you a JOB, not a CAREER. Unless you willing to compromise your morals and play well among management and leverage this, you will be stuck forever in one position.
There is an interesting pattern: hire highly motivated, young people freshly graduated, make them work really hard, then leave them at dark. They find themselves with a group of similar people, so they feel 'at home' and wouldn't complain too much.
Quite ironically, one of the company benefit is 'Growth Mentality'. The only one thing that keeps growing is confusion and chaos.
Gehalt/Benefits
Reasonable for Austrian standards, below average for industry averages.
There are excellent benefits, though, which are proudly advertised.
Like, 'clean room' (who would have guessed for a nanofabrication company!), 'fruit basket' (in a floor of 100 people, you get 3 bananas, 4 oranges, 10 apples, and a package of dates once every week. You are a winner if you manage to grab one banana!). Here's my favourite: 'growth mentality'.
On a serious note: It would have been nice to replace it with an annual public transport ticket. At least we can all go to a nice park and have a walk.
Umwelt-/Sozialbewusstsein
This is NOT the greatest priority at the moment, but never been. C-levels are given SUVs. Not much waste seperation prospects due to poor floor planning.
Kollegenzusammenhalt
It is the PEOPLE who made the workplace enjoyable and inspiring.
Cohesion is great at same level, i.e., among the entry level employees. The ones that work hard, put themselves in the front line of defence of troubleshooting and keeping the fleet alive.
Even after being laid off, most of us are in touch. We were trauma-bonded.
Umgang mit älteren Kollegen
The company is very young. Generally flat hierarchy and are approachable.
Vorgesetztenverhalten
There are 4 types of managers: 1) The ones that are good at both managing and technicality 2) The ones that are good as a manager but lacks technical knowledge 3) No managing skills, but great in technical knowledge 4) Good at neither.
In IMS, most fall into category 3. Some in 4. This is not unexpected, as we are talking about nerds, some of which have zero social skills. Being a manager takes some insight into people's psychology, empathy, and interest in well being of the team.
Managers in category 3 (including mine) cared about one and only one thing: keep the tool up. And not about the employees. Communication was poor, and often awkward.
Some managers allowed to have 90%+ home office while employees are forced to 50% in the office.
Arbeitsbedingungen
Some have complained about the open floor planning, but I liked it.
The kitchens are too small and only 4 toilets for 70+ people.
However, this will no longer be a problem after the massive layoffs! At least some achievement there.
Kommunikation
Everyone is friendly, at least in the beginning. Once you realize there are nuances. Politics, favouritism, and lack of accountability have gotten worse in the past few years.
People at higher positions make random announcements and radical structural changes, then rollback them again, the shuffle again.
There were meetings about meetings about why we need meetings, while important things were not communicated.
Gleichberechtigung
No descrimination was observed based on gender, nationality, ethnicity, and age.
Since a large number of employees are from non-EU countries, there are slight disparity in the salaries and opportunities, as they would be more 'loyal' to the company and put up with harsher conditions.
Interessante Aufgaben
Used to be good, not anymore. Funnily, most of the 'interesting tasks' would have been avoided in the first place if the issues had been prevented by proper planning and design.