Great place to learn to work hard, go elsewhere to work smart - Anonymous employee Expeditors Employee Review

3.0
Jun 12, 2008
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Expeditors is a stable company that consistently returns value to shareholders, and as an employee you will get a 15% discount on ESPP stock. Benefits are also very good, with 100% coverage and nothing coming out of your salary. They even cover getting braces for your kids, no matter how many you have. I think, especially for the transportation industry, these are the best benefits available - they are on par with what you get at Microsoft. You will feel like you are doing the most important work in the world, because you will be solving problems that save your customers tens of thousands of dollars (or more). The culture and "kool aid" are very powerful, and permeate the entire organization. it is a lot of fun, if you can embrace the "work hard, play hard" mentality. The company has all sorts of "folklore" and many of the early managers, some of whom are still with the company, seem like larger-than-life heroes.

Cons

The company is de-centralized, and there is a significant disconnect between the branch offices and the corporate headquarters. This, combined with its increasing size, has lead to a culture that is slow to adapt to the changing needs of knowledge workers. Turnover is painfully high in the first three years. Because each of the branch offices is run like an independent business, with its own P&L and a great deal of autonomy given to the District Manager, often branches will develop work-arounds due to the extremely slow development of software solutions from the corporate office. Even though the word "International" is in the name, this isn't somewhere to work if you're looking to get moved to a foreign office. They prefer to have the people at the branch offices be local, and have local knowledge. While this is great for the company, sometimes new employees find themselves frustrated when they thought there would be more opportunity for international placement. Software development is referred to as "IS" and is the red-headed stepchild of the organization. They are relegated to their own building, but are forced to follow the same code of conduct as the rest of the organization. It is hard to find truly innovative developers who want to wear a tie or are okay with not leaving a conference room until the white board it spotless. The pay is also very low compared to other software companies in Seattle, and the result is often that the people in those roles either do not stay long or stay because they can't get hired elsewhere. The peer experience in this group is very poor, and it is hard to feel like you are learning or growing your skills as software development engineer.

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5.0
May 5, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
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Pros

Great working environment, highly recommended

Cons

Working hours a bit hectic, repetitive works

2.0
Jul 1, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Stability and job security, formerly. Compressed work weeks and work-life balance, formerly. A 47-year no-layoff policy tested in two recessions and a pandemic. Formerly. Now? Well, all of those are gone, so it's hard to really cite anything other than that there's health care and the paychecks don't bounce.

Cons

The same stuff that's always been there, for one. Strict dress code. Dated systems they're trying to run away from as fast as humanly possible. Strict in-office culture with limited WFH. Little to no upward mobility; most senior management has been there for 20+ years and when someone does get promoted, the remaining jobs often seem to magically go to their buddies without getting bid. A complete inability to manage and coordinate anything effectively amongst multiple teams, which apparently is going to be somehow solved by laying off almost all the project/program managers. Oh, and on top of all that? Now, the new regime will lay you off, but first they'll gaslight you and claim the no-layoff policy never existed. Then they'll claim the team managers (who they conveniently also laid off) did the rankings that determined who got cut. Then they'll put a bunch of the survivors into a "bootcamp" and then make them interview to keep their jobs.

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