Good in some places, awful in others
Pros
There is no doubt that when looking at employee benefits, AIG is one of the best. From people I have spoken to, that is the main reason they stay.
Cons
They are top heavy. And those at the top really don't listen to anyone but those in top positions - AVPs or higher. There are committees that discuss how to make things better but those committees don't include those that are doing the work - the experts and affected parties - just senior managers. Sometimes decisions are made at an upper level and the people doing the work are left shaking their heads because they know that won't work. Instead of higher-ups making decisions, often far removed from the real problems that team members face, they should give, or at least include, the decision making power to those that are closest to the problem. One other issue - they won't hire the people to do the work but then hire a new VP or SVP who then hires 3 new AVPs to work under him/her. Apparently, the budget for resources is limited to AVPs and higher. Here's a specific example: United Guaranty, part of the AIG team, had a separate contracts team under AIGs GS&PS group. This contract group handled all contracts for UG (plus a few other small groups within AIG) - from governance to execution to follow up. At one point, they even kept track of timing & costs. This group needed to hire 2 more people but AIG said no way. So, instead, they hire a director (who undoubtedly makes 6 figures), moved 2 people out of the original contract group and made an entirely new group, adding yet another contract employee. These 2 groups are now doing the same thing but in 2 different groups in the same building. The original group worked well together, was a true team. Now, the original group and the new group don't interact at all. There is confusion amongst the people of UG and there is duplicate work being done.