Swiss Reign + Massive Change + New Site = Chaos - Anonymous employee Lonza Employee Review

3.0
21 Mar 2019
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Company has been doing well over the last few years (at the expense of it's people). Lots of money being made and the company shares. Bonuses have been +100% of target...as much as 180% in 2018. Benefits are par for the market in their cost-sharing model. Company is trying to dominate the CMO market. Stock is doing well. If you're an experienced worker, you can get PAID! Lots of sign-on bonuses being thrown around. Lots of attention being paid in Houston with the new facility there. Some new management being added that don't have a clue.

Cons

Employees are overworked! They are working long days, nights and weekends to keep up with the demand. Swiss leadership constantly swooping in to churn up the business. The leadership here is ALWAYS right. I had a situation where I filed a grievance against a leader and despite the grievance saying the company admitted fault they ultimately sided with the business leader. This is CONSTANTLY happening. Those people in Basel sit on their high paid thrones and yell commands across the world. There's one lady who spends +200 nights a year in hotels and NOBODY knows what she does. People using systems and technology that is outdated and difficult to manage. Folks constantly have to make due with these things and work around them. Many people leaving on top of the abundance of positions they are constantly hiring. No equity stock for employees who are lower than "Director" level, based on what I know. We've heard bits and pieces of favoritism and bias, especially with the Swiss. The Basel office there lacks cultural diversity. They are always moving talent from EU to USA and never the other way around, for development. Some management are not seen favorably in the USA by significant industry figures, causing a lack of confidence in delivery.

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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