Sinking Ship! Stay Away! - Strategic Account Manager Protolabs Employee Review

1.0
May 29, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Friendships made with other sales reps. Learning about prototype manufacturing.

Cons

Where do I even begin? This company was once thriving-a fantastic place to work. The culture was vibrant and collaborative, with teams constantly exchanging ideas and learning from one another. But that culture is long gone. What used to be a company driven by innovation and service expansion has become stagnant. One of the biggest red flats was when leadership disbanded the culture team-an unmistakable sign that employee morale and connection were no longer a priority. Sales, in particular has been devalued. It's as if leadership believes the software will sell the parts themselves. Their idea of celebrating Employee Appreciation Day? Handing out a cheap plastic soup cup and a 10-cent pack of ramen noodles. For a $500 million company, that's not just tone deaf-it's insulting. To make matters even worse there were little to no raises the past couple of years, and the 2025 compensation plan is, by far worst we have ever seen. All of this, unsurprisingly, was approved by the CRO- a person who has managed to demotivate an entire sales force and dismantle what was left of the company's culture. Morale is at an all-time low, and most-if not all-sales reps are actively searching for new jobs. Many tenured reps have already left. The writing is on the wall! The CRO does not lead, nor does he even know how to. Perhaps he should spend less time smoking by the loading dock and more time understanding the business he's supposed to help grow. A leadership overhaul is urgently needed. Starting with a new CEO who may be our only hope to salvage this sinking ship.

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Protolabs Response
1y
Hello - Thanks for sharing your concerns. We would love to discuss in person, and be able to share more data with you. We have a great story to share! In fact, our sales team is having an outstanding year, and on track to achieve current targets, retention of our employees is over 92% in Sales and we have promoted over 80 individuals on the Go To Market team over the past 12 months, and our Culture team in sales is alive and thriving, as was just brought up in last weeks all company meeting! We are excited about our future! It appears you may be receiving some incorrect information that we would like to clarify. Please reach out to us at talentacquisition@protolabs.com.

Explore other reviews about Protolabs

5.0
May 5, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great culture and feel. Best job in my career so far

Cons

The pay could be a bit more competitive

1.0
Mar 31, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Used to be great company with great culture and flexibility

Cons

New CEO Surresh has come in and completely destroyed the company culture that made Protolabs a great place to work at and was often awarded as such. Every meeting is coated in anxiety and the impending doom of layoffs despite record profits. In January a RTO was announced and there has been no flexibility and a straight up refusal to provide ADA accommodations to disabled employees by the HR department. They have taken away the flexibility that they used to provide to working parents that allowed them to work in office after/before their kids go to school despite not paying a living wage that would allow them to afford additional childcare. They have also chosen to make it even more difficult for employees to even receive a meets standards on their reviews as a cruel attempt to ensure they don’t have to give reasonable raises (which are rarely above 3% as is and they don’t provide market adjustments.) It’s unrecognizable from the company it used to be. They underpay, overwork, and expect the world of their employees while refusing to treat them with respect.

7
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