Company: J-P-Morgan
Date: 2009-03-02
Overall rating: 4/5
Employment status: former

WaMu - a bittersweet loss, but JPMC seems to be moving the business forward
Pros: Washington Mutual was a  great place to work, with an excellent benefit package and amazing community giving programs and support, especially in the headquarter city of Seattle. The verdict is still out on JPMC, which acquired WaMu in September 2008, but so far they seem like a good employer. Chase feels like a monolithic conservative corporate bank, and it is. But they set goals and deadlines and seem to hit those targets, which really establishes credibility, which is extremely important to those of the Wamulians that were retained, as well as new to Chase but long-time WaMu customers who are in a new market for JPMC.
Cons: Well the biggest downside was that it failed, and tens of thousands lost their jobs, benefits, 401k's and some lost stocks. But that is done and you have to move on. Otherwise, there was a discrepancy between the open level of communication of the sr. managers in my department, vs. what turned out to be the secrecy and silos with other sr. executives. I feel somewhat taken for a ride, because I actually believed what CEO and Board were saying in the weeks prior to the bank failure, in part because I was part of a culture that really tried to live the company's mission and values. WaMu was a great employer and working for them used to really mean something.