Pros
Prior to large changes at Soylent, including upper management changes and a large lay off at the company, Soylent was an ideal employer and company to work at. They provided very generous benefits including a great paid time off plan, medical benefits that are spectacular and great perks within the company (massages, work from home fridays, etc). Upper management before the layoffs were great and they promoted a culture of collaboration and communication between teams and departments. Everyone felt as though they were promoting and creating change in the world and space that they were working in. As individuals, we thought we were making a difference in the world and it always motivated us to work harder as a team.
Cons
After large changes at Soylent, including a change of upper management and large layoff last year (and another one the middle of this year), the culture has changed for the worst. We strayed away from our roots as food tech company and abandoned our values and core mission. New upper management, especially the new CEO, has led the company in the wrong direction. Women are not treated equally here, and although there may be a few exceptions, the majority of women at Soylent are not treated with respect. New employees do not see the bad that is going on in the company because they have simply not been here long enough to witness what the employees have seen for the past 2 years or more. Soylent had great potential to be one of the best companies to work for but they fail because they simply do not care about their employees anymore. I have witnessed discrimination and nepotism in this company to the extreme. I know that some readers of this review will write this off because it happens at “every company,” but we should strive to be better. At a progressive company such as Soylent, they should try harder to be more inclusive as an employer. Employees are underappreciated and undervalued. They are spread thin because of each layoff that occurs or people leaving the company because it has become undesirable to work there. There are an unnecessary amount of managers, senior directors, etc. at the company and creates a toxic environment. Employees are now pulling their “seniority”/”rank” in order to get what they want. A once friendly and collaborative culture is now a toxic one. Individuals who have been promoted, with no actual managerial experience, have been part of the issue as well. The company does not help them grow into these positions and they have been creating a path of toxicity. As a result of intense favoritism, qualified employees are forced to report to those with little to no experience in management roles and limited experience in a corporate environment at all. Anyone that has been vocal is silenced quickly, often belittled, and even let go for not “getting with the program." Employees are afraid to speak up against their managers, directors or even executive leaders because they fear retaliation – even if they know it will be a detriment to the company. Employees who once cared about the mission of Soylent have now become disengaged and jaded. The executive team does not uphold the mission or the core values of Soylent and their priorities are elsewhere. The CEO does not understand what Soylent is all about and has drastically changed the direction of what Soylent is doing as a company in the worst way possible. The CEO claims to be honest and transparent, but he does not uphold this at all. He will dodge questions and never acknowledge real issues that are happening within in the company. Everyone is afraid to criticize him for what he is doing because again they fear that they will lose their jobs. Upper management, including the CEO, have produced and exacerbated the culture of blame. The amount of office politics is disappointing and there has been a growing lack of trust and integrity between the CEO and the rest of the company. The company is severely understaffed and do not provide the necessary resources, headcount especially, for crucial departments. Because of this, people are overworked, spread thin and doing multiple jobs not at market value. The company has undervalued departments to the point of extinction and does not invest in these crucial departments. Instead of growing these departments, they have destroyed them. Many people have become one person teams. Overall, this company is a place I do not recommend working for. You will be stuck in the golden handcuffs situation where yes, you may get paid decently, depending on your situation, with great benefits, excellent perks at work, but you will work in an environment where morale is lowered again and again and the CEO won’t ever be transparent as he says he will be.