Lonza looked best when I saw it in the rearview mirror. - Senior Manager Lonza Employee Review

1.0
28 Sept 2013
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Has a large product portfolio; unfortunately almost all of it is built on old worked-over chemistry. They have collected together a lot of companies through acquisitions, most recently Arch Chemicals, and had (up until about mid 2012) some good prospects for building a successful, competitive business.

Cons

After Lonza acquired Arch, they were stuck with such a high debt load that they had to make massive cuts in staff, close down offices, cut product R&D, and in general put themselves on a path to go out of business. Lonza did not learn from the business and technical expertise that came from its acquisitions. They have at all costs protected their Lonza legacy upper and mid-management but sacrificed good leaders that came from the acquired companies. This is playing out very poorly, and has resulted in poor morale. Hard work does not pay off at this company. Instead, the only thing that seems to matter is where you are located. If you happen to be at one of the Arch legacy sites, protect your future by seeking employment somewhere else before your position gets cut.

Explore other reviews about Lonza

5.0
8 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Diverse opportunities across departments as one wanted

Cons

Provide decent pay and benefits

2.0
23 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Compensation (for higher level associates/senior management positions)

Cons

1) Work/life balance - leaders don't honor paid time off. Many teams expect you to be available during paid time off periods 2) Benefits - employer doesn't offer employer-subsidized vision insurance 3) Holidays - employer doesn't offer MLK Day and Juneteeth as paid days off, indicating how little they value diversity, inclusion, and belonging 4) Promotions - political; not based on merit 5) Mandated 5 day return-to-office to enable "in person collaboration" while at the same time offshoring jobs to cheaper markets. 6) PTO - based on tenure, but I think Lonza prefers high turnover so they don't have to give people time off (if they even honor it in the first place - see con 1) 7) Lack of harmonization - for an established CDMO, I was surprised at the level of misalignment between sites and the lack of standardization of processes

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