Good pay but bad culture - Anonymous employee Caterpillar Employee Review

2.0
1 May 2011
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Pay and benefits (health insurance, vacation time, etc) very good. *Potential* opportunities to move around in the US and internationally.

Cons

Politics and definitely a good ol' boys club. Favoritism for those who tell the leadership what they want to hear instead those who speak the truth. Some individuals were promoted 4 "Salary Grades" in less than 3 years without college degree, yet others without college degrees at entry-level salaried positions are told they can not advance. Company claims to have values of Integrity, Excellence, Teamwork, and Commitment. Integrity is not the highest, and there is a complete and utter lack of teamwork between functional silos especially between operations and engineering but even within the operations side of the business. A large percentage of Peoria residents work at Caterpillar, and I know hundreds of them. Unfortunately, I can't think of one person I have met that likes working there.

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5.0
3 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

great wlb and great benefits

Cons

none that i can think of.

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Caterpillar Response
1w
Thank you for being a valuable member of #TeamCaterpillar and sharing your experience. We are happy to hear that you are experiencing a good work-life balance and great benefits here at Caterpillar.
2.0
10 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good health insurance and benefits, good yearly bonuses. The pay is good.

Cons

They are enforcing returning to office by any means necessary. They have lost many high-quality producers who have refused to relocate or refuse to come in. Here's the kicker - they are requiring in-person attendance at the Chicago office and there aren't even enough desks for everyone. It would be a literal fire hazard if we all came into the Chicago office at the same time, M-F, during business hours. No one knows how or if they are going to actually enforce this. Cost of gas is insane, Joe doesn't care about the workers. Or the work for that matter. It's obvious this is a soft layoff, they have made a bunch of people quit. Their internal design agency is falling apart, lots of people have quit, not only because of return to office but because of the toxic politics, favoritism, and lack of direction and accountability. Mediocre workers are allowed to keep their jobs ONLY because of their ability to put their bodies in a chair and work in-person. The other relocation option HR gave besides Chicago was Peoria. No one wants to live in Peoria for any reason whatsoever, be for real.

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