Merck KGaA's oppressive oversight of EMD Millipore - Senior Manager MilliporeSigma Employee Review

1.0
Jan 13, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great, but rapidly aging product lines. Decent benefits but there is room to improve. Most people in the US are great to work with. Most US managers are flexible.

Cons

Current management is all about German parent company Merck KGaA with little interest/focus on our EMD Millipore/US customers and their needs. Merck KGaA's internal processes are quite burdensome and inhibit innovation. I have come to see Merck KGaA as a company more focused on meeting the requirements of their internal processes than actually developing or inventing any new products. Pity the poor US manager who is not at the beck and call of his/her German boss. Merck KGaA uses EMD Millipore as a cash cow (US$), and burdens EMD Millipore employees with a very heavy workload due to insufficient workforce and constant budget restraints/games in terms of adding head count in the US. However, these same constraints don't apply to our Merck colleagues who are able to hire for German positions whenever needed; in addition our German Merck colleagues have much better benefits - more vacation time, job protection, an actual pension, and better salaries. Recognition/promotions for women virtually nonexistent.

Explore other reviews about MilliporeSigma

5.0
Jun 2, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great place to work at and loved the environment

Cons

No cons to think of since new to work

avatar
MilliporeSigma Response
3d
It is great to hear that your first experience at our company has been so positive and that the environment has stood out to you. As you continue to settle in, we encourage you to use regular check-ins with your manager and the MyGrowth framework to shape your development and explore learning opportunities early on. Thank you for being part of the team, and for taking the time to share your feedback!
2.0
May 30, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great benefits, there’s flexibility when you need it, and the’s a significant amount of PTO. There is a lot of growth and development opportunities, as in learning new skills or strengthening skills.

Cons

There is a lot of restructuring happening, which often results in teams having to do the work of many without being compensated appropriately. This results in longer days, burn out, and feeling undervalued. There is a lot of encouragement for growth, but the actual growth/promotion part doesn’t seem to happen from leadership side. There is a lot of room for process improvements but too many teams work in silos and don’t want to work together so processes don’t get improved.

avatar
MilliporeSigma Response
3d
Thank you for sharing your experience, and for your continued commitment to MilliporeSigma over more than three years. We are glad that the benefits, flexibility, PTO, and learning opportunities have been meaningful to you. We are sorry that recent changes have affected your day-to-day experience. As a company with a long-term perspective and a strong sense of responsibility towards our people, organizational changes are never taken lightly. We are mindful that the impact on workload and team dynamics can feel significant at an individual level, and we understand that the experience on the ground does not always reflect the full picture of what those decisions are intended to achieve. Your points about career development follow-through and cross-team collaboration are noted, and we continue to work on improving how we support employees through change, how we deliver on development commitments, and how we enable better ways of working across teams. As a current employee, we would encourage you to share your experience through our Employee Engagement Survey, as your input directly helps shape the priorities we focus on.
See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All