Highly Capable, Underutilized Talent - Quality Auditor Caterpillar Employee Review

3.0
Oct 7, 2008
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Pay is better than working for a smaller company. Not required to work 2 weeks of days then 2 weeks of nights (No swing shifts like other companies in Decatur, IL). Health insurance is not as expensive as in other companies. It is a safety aware environment. Can contribute up to 70% of pay into 401K up to the federal cap. Quality issues usually get resolved

Cons

Nepotism. Pension was eliminated and replaced with 401K for Hourly Workers who were hired as Full-Time after Jan. 19, 2005. 2-Tiered wage scale. You can do the same job as someone who was hired under the old contract and they get $5 more per hour than you and they get the pension plan. Animosity between the 3 shifts. Shifts setting up other shifts to fail. People trying to do the easier work and leaving the harder work for the next shift. If you are a labor grade 6 or lower, then your upward mobility is limited. You either have to be related to or know the right people to move up within the company, unless you graduated top of your college class. A worker is pretty much stagnant in upward mobility once accepting a Hourly Wage Job. If you are a hard working, educated, farm-boy, you will be stuck on the factory floor. If a production worker is 1 minute late for work, you will be penalized the same as if you had missed the entire day of work. Supervisors can fire Supplemental Workers for any, or no reason at all. The company gives too much emphasis on 6-Sigma. I believe someone who is a creative problem solver can do the same things as any 6-Sigma Blackbelt. If you are a woman or minority, you can move up in this company.

Explore other reviews about Caterpillar

5.0
Jun 7, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great benefits Great WLB Great pay

Cons

Low mobility to move up within company

2.0
Jun 10, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good health insurance and benefits, good yearly bonuses. The pay is good.

Cons

They are enforcing returning to office by any means necessary. They have lost many high-quality producers who have refused to relocate or refuse to come in. Here's the kicker - they are requiring in-person attendance at the Chicago office and there aren't even enough desks for everyone. It would be a literal fire hazard if we all came into the Chicago office at the same time, M-F, during business hours. No one knows how or if they are going to actually enforce this. Cost of gas is insane, Joe doesn't care about the workers. Or the work for that matter. It's obvious this is a soft layoff, they have made a bunch of people quit. Their internal design agency is falling apart, lots of people have quit, not only because of return to office but because of the toxic politics, favoritism, and lack of direction and accountability. Mediocre workers are allowed to keep their jobs ONLY because of their ability to put their bodies in a chair and work in-person. The other relocation option HR gave besides Chicago was Peoria. No one wants to live in Peoria for any reason whatsoever, be for real.

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