Solvay Reviews

4.1

80% would recommend to a friend

(859 total reviews)
avatar

Philippe KEHREN

93% approve of CEO

53% positive business outlook

Solvay has an employee rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars, based on 859 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The Solvay employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Manufacturing industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

859 reviews
1.0
13 Apr 2022

Disappointing..

Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good benefits and located in nice area- Alpharetta GA

Cons

This company has a history and reputation that they milk for all its worth. Solvay has worked out an innovative approach to hiring BS/MS level engineers and chemists from top schools in the area by enticing them with the idea of working for a big name like Solvay while “promising” them career advancement opportunities. Quickly these researchers figure out the scheme as they continuously work in hazardous environments and are expected to do PhD level research while simultaneously being paid and treated like an uneducated worker. You will grow anxious and depressed while your college friends who graduated with psychology and marketing degrees rapidly exceed you in salary all while working from the comfort of their homes without being exposed to chemicals all day. This company has a liberal agenda that promotes mediocre work and focuses on only advancing people that fit the “right” profile or people that are the outspoken/well-liked. They don’t care about developing or advancing their current, knowledgeable employees and would rather just continue to finding the latest bright-eyed and bushy tailed new graduates until they become burnt out and the cycle repeats. This is the reason for the extreme turnover rate for that management plays off as “natural turnover cycle” due to their disconnect from what is actually going on. It was a sad thing to watch go on for so many years and I am glad a made the decision to get out and move into a different career path.

1.0
21 Jun 2021

Concerning Culture and Environment

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

They often pay very high if they initially want to hire someone. However, this will eventually become a problem if they later decide they are paying too much. There are good people at the working level.

Cons

Note there is a new CEO who is not the one listed currently on Glassdoor. The image put forth externally and even to the broad organization by the new CEO seems to be very positive and encouraging. However, behavior of top management and execution of their strategy is in total contradiction. They have said that people are important and have a outlined corporate principles related to this that are good. Again however, the top management is carrying out an execution order type plan where they are eliminating roles not related to performance but more likely numbers on a spreadsheet. This is becoming widespread and new hires should be very concerned with this as they have been doing this every two years with new "buzz" terms such as "oxygen", "we shape" but are really just code for position eliminate and yet another restructuring. The morale of the company and those who have remained is quickly falling and it is concerning for those still in this environment. The top HR management, particularly in the US, is not supporting the people. Do your homework and beware if you are considering a position here. There are many other companies hiring now with much better reputations.

2.0
23 Feb 2021

"System of control"

Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Pays OK, Great location, 401k match, Free bagels, cream cheese and some other comfort food (big belly, no worries, you will look wealthy), Free workplace drama so you could save some $ rather watching Netflix, Opportunity to advance your acting skills, Recently extended maternity&paternity leave to 16 weeks (paid) - great opportunity for new parents to look for a new job while they are on leave. Regardless of pros above, you should know that "some adventures are not worth taking". Stay away from Solvay's Technology Solutions business unit.

Cons

You will hear a lot of "Fabulous" things. They take brainwashing too serious, but they use organic. Lost significant brainpower in 2020 with retirements and got rid of unnecessary positions with layoffs (I guess this should be added to pros) . Unfortunately but as expected, slimy weasels rise to the top. Brown nosing is the norm. Only fresh graduates and PhD's, right out of school and not seeing anything else, could call this place a good place to work for. Not because they have a poor judgment, they just have not seen anything else. People are not happy at all but lazy enough to change jobs. Everybody appears miserable at work - ones that were happy either forced to retire or will retire very soon or left already. They will be missed. Constant Reorgs - like crazy! Poor Diversity & Inclusion efforts - underrepresentation of people of color (~5% of Stamford R&D) If you do not contribute to disinformation and partisanship, and If you do not eat your "free bagel" with others and pretend that you enjoy, you will be ostracized. Researchers treated as competition, not partners. Inexplicably incompetent management and borderline business ethics in mining division. Your performance rating is dependent on your relationship with your manager. Your “perceived” performance is more important than your actual performance

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Glassdoor has 2,128 Solvay reviews submitted anonymously by Solvay employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Solvay is right for you.