Menlo Park California Facility Review - Anonymous employee Abbott Employee Review

1.0
Oct 30, 2014
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Sufficiently resourced with people to do what needs to get done. Abbott Vascular in Temecula has laid of more than half its employees (2000+) in recent years. Abbott in Redwood City, about 2 miles from Menlo Park is transferring the entire facility production to Ireland. Despite plenty of skilled workers, Abbott Menlo Park continues to sponsor people from Ireland to fill the best facility positions. In order to sponsor someone for employment from another country, you have to establish a deficit of workers in the United States qualified to fill the position. With 2000+ laid off in Temecula, and relocating the entire facility that is a few miles away from Menlo Park (the Redwood City facility), there is plenty of internal / US based talent to fill the positions available in Menlo Park. If you post a position for 'Plant Manager', 'Manufacturing Engineer', 'Manufacturing Engineering Manager' or any of the positions which have been filed through sponsorship, you will get dozens of applications of qualified medical device professionals. The upper management of the facility prefer to hire their own people from Ireland because it improves their own position in the company. This can be considered an 'agency cost', which the exponential increased cost incurred by large company due to the difficulty in effectively monitoring for detrimental behavior of it's employees. The management has facilitated sponsorship of their girlfriends and spouses and put them in key positions for which they are unqualified. Audit findings have found that many of them have been promoted to positions they have no experience in and are out of compliance with QS Regulations regarding qualified resourcing. Some of these employees have been removed from their positions due to lack of qualifications. I have a little Irish blood in me so I considered this a Pro :P I'm just kidding here, but in all seriousness this is not a Pro.

Cons

About a year ago the management decided to stop 2nd shift production and only have 1st shift production. Not only did all of the 2nd shift have to rearrange their lives to start work at 5am, but their pay was also cut by 10%. Many of the employees receiving pay cuts had no knowledge or statement in their employment contract that mentioned that they were receiving a 10% benefit for working 2nd shift (a preferred shift by most employees). Many employees had recently left other positions to come to Abbott only to show up to their new job and receive a 10% pay cut within a month or 2 and be told that they would have to be into work at 5am. The reason employees were told that 2nd shift was being cut was due to demand, yet no layoff occurred, only a shift of employees to 1st shift and almost no attrition. Within 6 months, management decided that they had made a mistake and reopened the 2nd shift saying that there had been an increase in demand, again disrupting the lives of all of its employees for reasons that provided no benefit to the company. Demand forecasting did not support the loss or increase in demand for the product.

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5.0
Jun 22, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Team is supportive and great to work here. lot of freedom and no micromanagement.

Cons

as of now nothing but its good place to work.

2.0
Jun 15, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

• Strong brand and market position • Talented individual contributors and subject matter experts sprinkled throughout the organization • Opportunity to work on products that impact many patients

Cons

These comments reflect experience within Abbott Diabetes Care. • Culture can feel political and risk-averse, with difficult issues often addressed indirectly rather than transparently • Decision-making is slowed by multiple layers of management, many of whom appear focused more on managing upward than enabling teams and execution • Long-tenured management structures can create limited accountability, discourage new ideas, and make modernization difficult • Some leadership styles feel hierarchical and dismissive of dissenting viewpoints, making it risky to challenge the status quo • Strategic thinking and decision authority are concentrated among a relatively small group of senior leaders, creating bottlenecks and limiting innovation • Office environments and ways of working often feel outdated compared to more modern organizations • Organizational responsiveness can be frustratingly low. Routine requests, decisions, and communications often require multiple follow-ups, creating unnecessary delays and reducing accountability • Promotions and performance assessments often lack transparency, leading employees to question whether advancement is based on impact, visibility, DEI, or internal relationships • Employees navigating significant career or life transitions may experience varying levels of support, visibility, and development opportunities, making career continuity and progression feel less predictable than they should be

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