Does Smithfield Foods pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Smithfield Foods employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.4 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Smithfield Foods. This rating has decreased by 4% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Smithfield Foods?

39% of Smithfield Foods employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Smithfield Foods 2.5 out of 5 for work life balance, 2.6 for culture and values and 2.8 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Smithfield Foods?

Production Supervisor (39) , Production (32) , Maintenance Technician (30) , Production Worker (29) , General Laborer (26) , Manager (19) , Machine Operator (12) , Maintenance Supervisor (12) , Material Handler (12) , Supervisor (12) , Director (11) , General Production (11) , Sales Account Manager (11) , General Production Worker (9) , Maintenance Mechanic (9)

What are the pros of working at Smithfield Foods according to real employee reviews?

"The pay is good but they make you work like slaves and don’t treat you with respect." ((in 194 reviews)); "Good benefits and start work early so you get off earlier in the day" ((in 146 reviews)); "The people here are great to work with and have been here for a long time." ((in 82 reviews)); "Money was good and all the other you could want" ((in 21 reviews)); "Good salary" ((in 20 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Smithfield Foods according to real employee reviews?

"Bad management and other workers are rude" ((in 62 reviews)); "Long hours and lots of days too" ((in 59 reviews)); "No work life balance at all" ((in 53 reviews)); "Conservative company and long hours" ((in 23 reviews)); "Poor culture and company values" ((in 23 reviews))

What are employees saying about Smithfield Foods redundancies in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about Smithfield Foods redundancy and their outlook for job security at Smithfield Foods in 2026.

Smithfield Foods Reviews

3.0

39% would recommend to a friend

(1,279 total reviews)

Shane Smith

48% approve of CEO

38% positive business outlook

Company ratings over time

Ratings trend for the last 6 months (1,279 reviews)

Smithfield Foods has an employee rating of 3.0 out of 5 stars, based on 1,279 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an average working experience there. The Smithfield Foods 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

1K reviews

1.0

5 Sept 2017

Human Resource Manager

Human resources manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

There are little. I guess you can say that you work for one of the largest hog producers. Some of the people are nice.

Cons

I see unethical behavior all the way to the VP ranks of the company. I have personally been involved in illegal hiring practices as well as discrimination of protected class employees. i have witnessed poor management and unsafe working conditions. I have watched operations managers ship bad product before QA could catch it so they can get production credit. That ultimately ended up getting rejected at the Distribution Center luckily avoiding USDA recall.

1.0

19 May 2015

Worst company in America...Chinese owned

Production manager

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

The compensation is nice until you find out that you have to work 6+ days a week...enjoy your $12/hour average. Meetings were a blast because I watched everyone play candy crush for an hour I was able to escape.

Cons

Wow...so many to list. Management lacks the life skills necessary to function in any other professional environment. Leadership by email, and from behind an iPhone. Asks illegal interview questions. Extremely unprofessional language. Literally ZERO perks for working here. Corporate abuse. Smells awful. Upper management promoted from within the ranks, not a whole lot more than a GED required to run a plant. Your work is never good enough. Constant state of uncertainty about performance. Completely unrealistic expectations. Turnover rate easily more than 40%. General management incompetence means you'll be answering your personal phone at any hour of the day or night. I was routinely brought in behind closed doors and counseled about how I "own" the business and I "must" answer my personal phone. Knee jerk reactions is normal.

4.0

8 Mar 2015

Fast paced, manufacturing corporate culture but trying to move towards CPG.

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business outlook

Pros

Good compensation, good benefits, pension, 401K plan. Fast-paced with many new professional opportunities for hard working professionals. Many hard-working people who care about the company.

Cons

Nepotism present throughout the company, even for high level positions. Still in the process of digesting the corporate culture of 8-9 prior operating companies.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 1,279 Reviews

Jobs at Smithfield Foods

Processing Mechanic - 2nd and 3rd Shift

Production Intern OSU

Harvest - Operator/Loader - 3rd Shift

Grain Elevator Operator

USD 275K - USD 350K /yr

(Employer provided)

View job