High Turnovers = Low Employee Morale - Senior Research Associate Amyris Employee Review

2.0
Sep 7, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Some fun employee events, like Top Dog day, Happy Hours, softball teams, kegs, subsidized lunches, etc. Might be a good starter job or a short-term position for those fresh out of college since there is a lot to learn from your peers and mentors, across other departments.

Cons

As mentioned in previous reviews, the company had become increasingly top-heavy, especially after layoffs of people who do the wet work in labs, and hiring of upper level management...BUT productivity expected to be the same, with unrealistic deadlines. Management had lost the trust of their employees (and never regained it back after all these years), which have led to mass exoduses and low morale for those who remain. Managers, company-wide, have systematically undervalued their people. They're all replaceable cogs in their machinery. The paranoia/lack of trust was so bad that most people don't even trust surveys to be anonymous because their HR has an untrustworthy reputation, which is uncharacteristic of such a department. Those are signs of a toxic work environment. It was a mental challenge to work there day in and day out. I was lucky to get out when I did. Looks like nothing has improved since, according to my old colleagues, who are actively seeking employment elsewhere. Good luck to them. There was a lot of competition between and within departments. It fosters unhealthy working relationships -- cutthroat at times. People tell me that opportunities to move to different departments no longer happen as frequently as their glory years, which was one of its selling points. My years there were very mentally-exhaustive and detrimental to your emotional well-being. Other people have observed how working there have changed them for the worse. Once trusting and naive college graduates transformed into downtrodden cynics.

Explore other reviews about Amyris

5.0
Sep 25, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- work/life balance - ability to grow in multiple directions - prioritization of safety culture

Cons

- higher level management structure can be confusing or seem disorganized at times

4.0
Jul 8, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Culture (before bankruptcy), Free Lunch (when it was there)

Cons

Bankruptcy, reorganization, and reduction in workforce

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