Ball Corporation Reviews

Former Employee – worked at Ball Corporation as an intern

Pros – I really enjoyed working here. There was a lot of work and business travel for an engineering co-op, a lot more than I expected I would do. I liked the engineer I reported to because he would explain what he wanted done and then let me go work on it until it needed approval or until I had a question. Also, the general atmosphere was great and everyone was very nice.

Cons – There really were no cons because it was a great experience for an engineer still in school and allowed me to learn a lot.

Current Employee – been working at Ball Corporation full-time for more than 10 years

Pros – Great company to work for, like the direction we are heading

Cons – Sometimes seemed like we did not want to make changes

Advice to Senior Management – Keep on the same track we are on, love the communcation we are now seeing

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Ball Corporation as an intern for less than a year

Pros – Great work environment
Got to learn a lot about the engineering side of the company
Got to learn a lot about management

Cons – The experience gotten out of the COOP is relative to how much you want to learn. This means if you try hard you will get a lot of good experience, if not you will end up not learning much and wasting your time.

Advice to Senior Management – N/A

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at Ball Corporation full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – Excellent Wages and Benefits/Pension (all thanks to Collective Bargaining Agreement in place at time plant was purchased)

Cons – Plant purchased in 2009 by Ball Corporation. Senior management came in with the promise of a long career for us all, very impressed with our facility in every way, they even stated that they "wanted our children and grand-children to work there"...all untrue! No real investment in the plant, no real exchange of personnel from other Ball facilities to help integrate culture. They cutback on scheduled maintenance almost immediately and laid off 48 people at end of 2011, than they announced the following year that our facility would be closing permanently at the end of 2012. They are a union-busting company, they're subtle about it, they do it quietly and legally as the previous four beverage can plants that they closed (counting us) were unionized. Dispersed our volume to other facilities. Utililize inexperienced workers from temporary services. If they buy your plant be very wary especially if unionized and update your resume, start looking for a new job and saving your money.

Advice to Senior Management – Stop closing can plants and contributing to the loss of family-supportive middle-class jobs in this economy.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Ball Corporation full-time for more than 10 years

Pros – Pays a reasonable working wage

Cons – The "corporate culture" has changed and not for the better. Ball used to genuinely care about its employees. Now it only seems concerned with keeping investors happy. Almost all, if not all, union plants have closed, while large amounts of money funneled into operations/startups in foreign countries.
Mandatory overtime, frequent use of temp employees with no experience, then management complaining when production numbers are down.
Disturbing pattern of finding nit-picky reasons to let go of experienced employees only to replace them with outsiders (friends of management) or piling more work on existing employees. Bidding on internal openings is a joke. Policies tend to favor the slackers over the people who actually show up to do their jobs.

Advice to Senior Management – Look at how the company was run a decade ago and aim for a similar module.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Ball Corporation full-time for more than 10 years

Pros – The company has decent benefits and fair salaries including a pension plan. Most management is great to work for. Pleasant work environment with lots of great people. Generally nice facilities. Many staffers love the company and treat it like their own. If you're under 50, it can be a great place to work.

Cons – Employee loyalty and length of service is not rewarded. New breed of executives are mostly concerned about themselves and not the company. Major effort underway to get rid of longterm employees over 50. Middle managers are often stressed out and worried about their jobs. Decisions are often made for CYA purposes.

Advice to Senior Management – Replace the CIO. He's a horrific manager who is egotistical, derisive, and blind to researched facts & opinions that don't coincide with his agenda. Many staffers and plant personnel would do anything for this company, but no longer believe management feels the same.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Ball Corporation full-time

Pros – Focus on employee
Growth into new market segments
Good working conditions

Cons – Lack of accountability at executive level
Mediocore talent
Lots of "Good Ole Boy" networks in place

Advice to Senior Management – Adopt more progressive management techniques. Push to obtain top talent.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Ball Corporation

Pros – Ball has a tremendous benefits package.

Cons – If you like larger teams, Ball tends to assemble smaller groups.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Ball Corporation

Pros – A company with allot of history. A global market leader in its business segment, good benefits for employees.

Cons – Needs better talent management and development.

Former Employee – worked at Ball Corporation

Pros – Great benefits. Friendly people. True sense of ownership in the company by every employee. Great location. The company believes in personal development and training.

Cons – Two weeks of vacation for starting employees is behind the times. Some senior level managers are allowed to stay in their positions when they are ineffective.

Advice to Senior Management – Ball needs to implement 360 review process. This process would allow scoring of management effectiveness. Ball promotes based on friendships and not necessarily abilities.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend