Does Charles River Laboratories pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Charles River Laboratories employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.0 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Charles River Laboratories. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Charles River Laboratories?

49% of Charles River Laboratories employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Charles River Laboratories 3.2 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.2 for culture and values and 3.1 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Charles River Laboratories?

Lab Technician (78) , Scientist (69) , Animal Care Technician (65) , Research Technician (55) , Technician (52) , Analyst (51) , Research Associate (46) , Research Scientist (42) , Supervisor (37) , Research Assistant (36) , Laboratory Technician (31) , Study Director (27) , Project Manager (25) , Manager (22) , Associate Scientist (20)

What are the pros of working at Charles River Laboratories according to real employee reviews?

"The ability to move around within the company is relatively good and the benefits are good." ((in 239 reviews)); "Great people you work with and a relatively easy job with very easy to understand ladder to climb." ((in 171 reviews)); "good work life balance to an extent" ((in 71 reviews)); "Very interesting place to work and colleagues are great" ((in 44 reviews)); "Great Coworkers (for the most part)" ((in 41 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Charles River Laboratories according to real employee reviews?

"sites are disorganized and pay is low" ((in 182 reviews)); "Management is poor and people who are in charge lack knowledge of CDMO" ((in 170 reviews)); "The low salary also makes it hard to subsequently ask for more at another company." ((in 119 reviews)); "Long hours are common and they happen with little or no warning and frequently (at least a couple times a week)." ((in 42 reviews)); "upper management could do better caring for the employees." ((in 37 reviews))

What are employees saying about Charles River Laboratories layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about Charles River Laboratories layoffs and their outlook for job security at Charles River Laboratories in 2026.

What are the top reviewed Charles River Laboratories locations?

Wilmington , Mattawan , Reno , Ashland , Horsham , Shrewsbury , Memphis , Boston , Charleston , Worcester , Chicago , Bethesda , Raleigh , South San Francisco , Malvern , Wayne , Cambridge , Skokie , San Diego , Rockville , Morrisville , Newark , Frederick , Philadelphia , Spencerville , Kalamazoo , Wilmington , Durham , Kingston , Catskill

Charles River Laboratories reviews

3.1

49% would recommend to a friend

(2,374 total reviews)

Birgit Girshick

64% approve of CEO

32% positive business outlook

Company ratings over time

Ratings trend for the last 6 months (2,374 reviews)

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Charles River Laboratories has an employee rating of 3.1 out of 5 stars, based on 2,374 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Charles River Laboratories employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

2K reviews

2.0

Jul 5, 2025

Too much work

Animal care technician

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

You can get massages every month, there’s events. Also depends on who you’re team leads is and co-workers. It’s great when everyone works together as a team

Cons

Too much work in the mice room they sent me to. The team lead is horrible and put all the work and strain on me, and expect me to get it right within a month

2.0

Jul 1, 2025

For training purposes only

Scientist

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Willing to training on things you haven't done before.

Cons

They don't care about their employees and you are just a cog in their wheel to make them more money. My advice would be to just work there to get training on something you've never done before and move on to a better company that appreciates you better

1.0

Jun 29, 2025

Nasty politics, even worse quality

Management

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

None! Not even a sensible stepping stone company. More likely to hurt your carrer, than help.

Cons

Systemic, serious quality issues have been present and intentionally ignored for years by senior leadership. Cronyism amongst leaders is rampent, which only continues the never ending cycle of horrible decisions resulting in horrible quality, resulting in further horrible decisions, on and on. Employee surveys are reviewed in a manner to find out who said what. Follow orders, don't bring up anything negative and maybe you'll last long enough to be a scapegoat for something going wrong or a client being disappointed. Beware curious leaders! Your efforts to engage your reports, peers and effect positive growth for the company are strongly discouraged (under the table of course, they'll make up whatever they need to in order to punish you).

Viewing 145 - 147 of 2,374 Reviews

Jobs at Charles River Laboratories

Animal Care Technician I

Supervisor, Bioanalytical Chemistry

Immunopathology Analyst I

Laboratory Technician I