Great Company, Questionable Future - Designing Engineer General Motors (GM) Employee Review

3.0
28 Oct 2008
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The people that work for GM are generally capable, respectful, and congenial. It is a great place to work if you are looking for a nice and welcoming work environment. People are always willing to help one another on projects or with questions. The managers also genuinely care about their employees and want them to be happy and successful as much as possible. There is also a great technical education program for those who are interested. It is possible to complete advanced degrees and improve one's skills conveniently and at very little cost. Finally, the working hours can be very flexible for those who have special circumstances or when unexpected events arise.

Cons

In general, GM is not a well run company with many obvious areas for improvement that senior management seemingly chooses to ignore. Additionally, there are very few opportunities for advancement even for talented employees. The reason for this is that as the company has gotten smaller it has also gotten very top heavy. There are a large number of managers and senior executives with seemingly little responsibility. Many of these managers have few employees that they supervise and their responsibilities are only slightly greater than those of the employees they supervise. As a result, it is difficult for younger employees to be promoted to leadership positions because there are already too many managers and not enough employees.

Explore other reviews about General Motors (GM)

5.0
30 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Work life balance is great

Cons

Decent but slow burn layoffs

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General Motors (GM) Response
2mo
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us. We would like to thank you for your continued contributions to GM and appreciate the feedback!
3.0
6 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

GM offers above-average benefits compared with many employers, including solid healthcare, retirement, and time-off options. Compensation is generally competitive and aligned with market value, especially for engineering and technical roles. The hybrid work schedule at the Tech Center is a positive, offering better flexibility than fully onsite roles while still allowing collaboration with teams in person.

Cons

GM’s current performance management culture can be a major morale killer. The stacked ranking approach and forced distribution create an environment where employees may feel they are competing against peers instead of being evaluated purely on performance. There also appears to be a cap on how many employees within a group can receive higher performance ratings. A manager may tell you throughout the year that you are exceeding expectations, but the final review can still come back as “meets expectations” because of calibration, quotas, or internal politics. Like many large corporations, it can be easy to feel like a small cog in a very large machine. Decision-making is often driven heavily by cost reduction, investor expectations, and headcount efficiency, sometimes at the expense of morale and long-term employee engagement. The “Workplace of Choice” messaging can feel disconnected from the actual employee experience, especially when performance ranking, headcount reduction, and workload expectations do not align with that message.

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