That giant sucking sound is the culture leaving the building
Pros
Passionate people; above-average benefits; the remains of a once-great culture (can it be saved?); fun/respected brands; tater tots
Cons
Clif Bar was once a diamond in the rough - we cared about people over profits, everyone pulled for each other, and we were the darling of the category. Fun brands and a company with a purpose. We were negligently unprepared for when our business matured and competition revved up. Gary & Kit replaced the old CEO and took over, finger-pointing and chaos ensued. They picked a disastrous and costly fight with KIND and lost. All of our innovation flopped. In over their heads, they hired a new CEO and a new Board of Directors to run things. COVID laid bare our worst internal problems. Desperate, Sally & the BOD opened up the big-company playbook and hired McKinsey to 'restructure' and cut costs. 120+ people were laid off at HQ. The programs that actually did good in the world are being deprioritized. The lay-offs were badly bungled and ripped the soul out of the company. Although they're now bringing in 'credentialed' new executives, they've ruined the culture and saddled the rest of us with the hard work without a clear vision or a plan. Retention is a major issue. Sadly, CLIF is no different from any other big company now. It was a tight-knit family, now it's all about execs in fancy suits driving fancy cars trying to make themselves look good before their next stop.
