Pros
Company is trying to change for the better, and over years there were some positive changes. Few examples would be that people now get permanent contracts from the start - which was not the case a couple of years ago, introduction of pension & life insurance for everyone in Netherlands (not just IT) and graduate program is working out great for both graduates and the company. Even though it's corporation size big - you can still get a lot of stuff done without requiring signatures and approvals.
Kontras
Many of the things company is trying to improve are missing the point - either trying to solve different/wrong problem, or introducing a "solution" that doesn't help. Technology stack is "old" - and even if you go past the fact that learning Perl5, or in-house templating in case of designers - is not going to give you plus points for your next job (because learning concepts, big scale and commercial thinking will help). True innovation is also suffering due to limitations of tech stack, and aversion to technologies that would be new to Booking - even when they are widely accepted outside and not just latest buzzword. Many ideas and concepts get shot down because they seem technically impossible or would require too much effort. Or in cases where they are not shot down right away - get introduced with big trade-offs that limit the usefulness, or delayed by 1 to 2 years. All mentioned combined with company compensation philosophy being "We don't want salary to be the reason people work here" means there's very little to motivate people to go an extra mile.
