Pros
Great optics. Was a pioneer in creating new technologies but that is now all history due to some inept managers.
Cons
Middle management destroyed the entire lab network within a few years and never failed blaming the exiting president. Same game year after year. There is a group of manager from former Sola that run the place. Sola was bankrupt by the time Zeiss took over and the same managers that lead Sola are today in the same positions at Zeiss. Currently Zeiss is only a shadow of what it was pre-merger. Very very very low professional level on all levels. Once I participated at a meeting with a very high up manager who flew in from Germany for this meeting and his only contribution in his own words was ".. and I looked them in the eyes and told them, this time it has to work". That's pretty much the strategy he had in mind.