Poor Leadership Decisions, Massive Layoffs Last 2 Years & Low Morale - Anonymous employee Petco Employee Review

1.0
Jan 20, 2018
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Pets in the office creates a great working environment. Corporate in San Diego was nicely designed and has a coffee shop and cafeteria.

Cons

*Pay is notorious low. *Benefits don't kick in until 60 days after your first day - they will make exceptions and pay COBRA for high level positions, IF YOU ASK before they make you an offer. *Bonuses have not been payed out the last 2 years. Although I was told that the executives DID get paid their bonuses. *Merit increases are minimal, if at all. *The executive team required everyone in the corporate office to take PTO the week between Christmas and New Years. Then they laid off around 145 people 4 weeks later. They obviously did this because they didn't want to pay out PTO when they laid these people off. Savage move! *Health benefits are expensive and the coverage is very poor. *Low morale and uncertainty across the company due to major layoffs (100+) at the corporate level in January 2017 and then again (145) in January 2018. *Director level and above get unlimited time off and stock that they call P-units while everyone below director get "use it or lose it" time off and no stock. *I also watched them hire several people during the middle of the year only to lay them off 6-7 moths later. Poor leadership planning on their part.

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Pros

Good environment and great people

Cons

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1.0
Jul 14, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
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Pros

- Wonderful people under the Sr. Director level - Dogs in the office - Brand name carries weight on your resume

Cons

- Sr. Directors and above are largely nepotism hires rather than merit-based promotions - Leadership team is toxic and disrespectful, and that tone trickles down to other senior leaders - Sexism shows up repeatedly, with women being asked to pick up the work of men without additional pay. Or men being promoted over women due to favoritism and not merit. - Nearly every employee I worked with was disengaged and functioning out of fear of layoffs rather than job satisfaction (layoffs happen multiple times a year) - The company's declining position also makes it harder to land your next role, since a recent Petco title now reads as coming from a struggling brand

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