Solvay reviews

This company has a history and reputation that they milk for all its worth. Solvay has worked out an innovative approach to hiring BS/MS level engineers and chemists from top schools in the area by enticing them with the idea of working for a big name like Solvay while “promising” them career advancement opportunities. Quickly these researchers figure out the scheme as they continuously work in hazardous environments and are expected to do PhD level research while simultaneously being paid and treated like an uneducated worker. You will grow anxious and depressed while your college friends who graduated with psychology and marketing degrees rapidly exceed you in salary all while working from the comfort of their homes without being exposed to chemicals all day. This company has a liberal agenda that promotes mediocre work and focuses on only advancing people that fit the “right” profile or people that are the outspoken/well-liked. They don’t care about developing or advancing their current, knowledgeable employees and would rather just continue to finding the latest bright-eyed and bushy tailed new graduates until they become burnt out and the cycle repeats. This is the reason for the extreme turnover rate for that management plays off as “natural turnover cycle” due to their disconnect from what is actually going on. It was a sad thing to watch go on for so many years and I am glad a made the decision to get out and move into a different career path.

Note there is a new CEO who is not the one listed currently on Glassdoor. The image put forth externally and even to the broad organization by the new CEO seems to be very positive and encouraging. However, behavior of top management and execution of their strategy is in total contradiction. They have said that people are important and have a outlined corporate principles related to this that are good. Again however, the top management is carrying out an execution order type plan where they are eliminating roles not related to performance but more likely numbers on a spreadsheet. This is becoming widespread and new hires should be very concerned with this as they have been doing this every two years with new "buzz" terms such as "oxygen", "we shape" but are really just code for position eliminate and yet another restructuring. The morale of the company and those who have remained is quickly falling and it is concerning for those still in this environment. The top HR management, particularly in the US, is not supporting the people. Do your homework and beware if you are considering a position here. There are many other companies hiring now with much better reputations.