Leonardo

3.0

26 Jun 2022

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

Working in the Helicopters division gives you an incredible unique experience compared with other companies in the UK. Not only are we the only Helicopter manufacturer based in-country, but the whole end-to-end process is carried out on-site in Yeovil. Nowhere else will you get the experience of conceptual design through to seeing your product flying away from the factory. The potential of the company is enormous, and the steps that the Italian side of the company are taking towards digitisation, transformation and harmonisation between divisions is really promising. The potential of Research and Innovation is massive, and there are steps being taken that look very promising that we may expand our product catalogue to exploit developing markets. The graduate and apprentice schemes are exceptional with plenty of opportunities for those at the start of their career to grow and explore avenues they did not think were open to them. The Senior Leadership Team on the whole are very approachable, supportive and honest. The Soft Benefits of a very flexible "flexi-time" are excellent. The on-site Occupational Health team are fantastic for both physical and mental health support. The pension scheme defined benefit is very generous.

Cons

Currently, the Helicopter division pays well below industry standard at all levels within Engineering. It seems studies and focus groups into "why our retainment of graduates is so low" ignores a key problem that is raised every time; that they are simply not paid well enough. The company's recent focus on AW149 has distracted from the fact that the future strategy and road map is non-existent. The contracts the company is winning is with existing customers, where many of the 'new' contracts are simply upgrades to existing platforms/fleets. The outlook beyond two years seems bleak. Whilst the potential is massive, a historical lack of interest in the future and resting on our 'Westland' laurels has resulted in a huge skills gap and a drop in initiative and creative problem solving. The older and more senior employees are happy to sit on "this is how we've always done it". The current way of managing problems is to fire fight, and those that cause delays / bottle necks have the finger pointed at them by external departments. The company tried pushing a "One Leonardo" approach between divisions, but honestly it doesn't even feel like we're "One Leonardo Helicopters".

Leonardo Response

Thank you for your comprehensive and balanced review of your experiences of working with Leonardo. As you point out, there is huge potential at Leonardo and we are looking to ensure we continue to be an exciting and challenging place to work. Our Senior Leadership Team is focussed on a long term vision and strategy for the Yeovil business as well as winning new business in the short term. We are also introducing a new company-wide grading structure that will be in place during 2023. We appreciate there is always more to be done and we welcome open conversations with our colleagues and therefore we would welcome the opportunity to continue the conversation with you, especially with regard to the communication ideas you have suggested, please contact us at communications@leonardo.com.

Huge potential but lack of direction within a blame culture. - Project Engineer Leonardo Employee Review

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