Don't be lured by their product and reputation. Poorest management and HR. - Anonymous employee Criteo Employee Review

1.0
Feb 24, 2013
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Product is great and has a strong reputation on European markets. Good international expansion and momentum as a company.

Cons

(SMB Department only) Management is awful. Low-profile mid-managers, inefficient and heavy processes that leave no room for flexibility, creativity, innovation. "Go-getter" attitude and proposing new ideas are seen more as a risk than as the right thing to do: you always have to bear in mind that appearing smarter than your boss will make him/her feel endangered and thus may hinder you from moving forward in your career. Managers rarely congratulate you, and emphasize on criticizing instead. There's a relation of fear to your boss and to hierarchy in general at Criteo. Managers are afraid of their manager(s), which makes communication and decision making very centralized in this department. Things are written in stone like nowhere else. Employees are asked to stick to their prerogative, to do no less, no more than their scope: this is called Fordism. SMB execs always brag about Criteo being a startup, but it couldn't be any further. Unfair and unethical decisions: not the best people are promoted. No transparency whatsoever on roadmap or just general department information. You barely know what future is made of (but an educated guess makes you realize that the future is elsewhere). SMB is just a cash-machine that attracts no attention from Paris HQ at all. You don't feel important to the company. No HR, low salary and inexistant perks, you're just another brick in the wall. Most boring office I've seen.

Explore other reviews about Criteo

5.0
Jun 8, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great environment, great people to work with

Cons

Need to go back to office

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Criteo Response
6d
We're thrilled to receive such positive feedback and to know that you've found a place where you can grow and thrive at Criteo. Thank you for sharing and for your trust all these years. It's great to have you on the team!
1.0
Feb 26, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Earlier in my time at Criteo, the culture was a true strength. Teams were collaborative, capable, and invested in delivering value to clients. There are still incredibly smart, hardworking people across the organization when they are given the resources needed to deliver strong work.

Cons

Morale has declined significantly due to direction from upper leadership. Executive communications often feel scripted and disconnected from the realities teams are navigating. Employees are facing burnout, layoffs, no merit compensation growth, and increasing workloads without clear strategic guidance. Leadership layers have expanded in ways that create bottlenecks and slow decision making, while individual contributors lack clarity on priorities and long term direction. Internal mobility has been restricted, limiting opportunities for promotion or role movement at the same time compensation progression has been removed. Salary transparency was removed from internal and external role descriptions, which has impacted trust. Despite positive performance, cost discipline appears to disproportionately affect employees rather than being shared equitably across leadership levels. Additionally, a return to office policy has been implemented, including for employees originally hired as remote. This has added strain and uncertainty for teams.

9
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Criteo Response
3mo
Thank you for sharing such detailed feedback. Every decision we make is taken with our long-term organizational health in mind. From top leadership to individual contributors, we are all committed to building sustainable success for our company and the people in it. Making Criteo a place where everyone can grow is a shared priority, and that’s why we equally value vertical and horizontal career pathways. When it comes to individual recognition, our merit compensation processes are structured and similar across our entire organization to ensure maximum fairness and equity. Since Criteo's success is built on connections, we strongly encourage our teams to come together to boost innovation and collaboration at once. By blending office presence with flexible options, we keep trust at the core of our work approach since everyone remain empowered to manage their time, energy, and schedule the way they see fit. Open feedback helps us improve and move forward, so thank you for sharing yours!
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