Management's a Joke since Roche took over - Anonymous employee Genentech Employee Review

2.0
Oct 1, 2011
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

People are still great, and you're doing important work for patients. Compensation and benefits are competitive-or-better. Nice campus, pleasant place to work.

Cons

Roche management are idiots. The integration virtually destroyed countless departments at this company. Roche was (and is) more interested in protecting their own and showing GNE exactly who's boss than they are in doing the right thing. I saw our department waste 10s of millions of dollars putting in a new database system because the Roche system sucked and they refused to adopt the Genentech system, because it was Genentech (and by definition anything Genentech is bad). I can count two dozen people just from my department who either left or were forced out by idiot management, and all of them were better than the Roche people who replaced them. There's a reason this company has plummeted in the rankings of "best place to work" from #1 a few years ago to about #50, and that free-fall is not going to stop any time soon. Watching this place now is like watching a loved one slowly die. It's agonizing, and I'm glad I moved on before Roche finishes throwing dirt on the body.

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5.0
Jun 6, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great salary and team! The interview process was smooth and effective.

Cons

To be determined, but so far many alignment meetings. Some folks have frustuations around the re-org and strategy changes.

3.0
May 7, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Genentech's origin story and mission are genuinely inspiring — few companies can point to such a meaningful historical arc in medicine. Patient engagement is taken seriously and feels authentic, not performative. The campus is beautiful and the culture has real warmth.

Cons

DDA is operating with significant gaps. First, the foundational data infrastructure is not mature enough to support the ambitions being set for the team. Second, the measurement culture has gotten ahead of the methodology, and no one in a position of authority seems to be asking hard questions about whether the numbers actually mean what they're being presented as meaning. Third, some management feel disconnected from the work itself, lacking the knowledge, hands-on experience, or relevant credentials. Individually any one of these would be manageable. Together these create an environment where it's hard to do rigorous work, rather work is performative, and be recognized for it.

2
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