Is First Solar a good company to work for?

First Solar has an overall rating of 3.7 out of 5, based on over 805 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has decreased by 3% over the last 12 months. 70% of employees would recommend working at First Solar to a friend and 62% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about First Solar have been left by employees working as Manufacturing Engineer , Development Engineer and Manager .

Does First Solar pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, First Solar employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.4 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at First Solar. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at First Solar?

70% of First Solar employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated First Solar 3.7 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.7 for culture and values and 3.3 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at First Solar?

Engineer (24) , Manufacturing Engineer (21) , Manager (17) , Technician (13) , Development Engineer (11) , Intern (9) , Development Engineer II (8) , Internship (8) , Manufacturing Associate (8) , Project Manager (8) , Production Operator (7) , Analyst (6) , Director (6) , Coater Technician (5) , Human Resources Generalist (5)

What are the pros of working at First Solar according to real employee reviews?

"Good benefit and growth of the company" ((in 60 reviews)); "People are understanding of mistakes and it's great as a first full time corporate job." ((in 53 reviews)); "Good pay and work with top tallent peers" ((in 46 reviews)); "Good culture Friendly co" ((in 36 reviews)); "good work / life balance" ((in 21 reviews))

What are the cons of working at First Solar according to real employee reviews?

"Cultural challenges given the number of spread out offices and difficulty establishing a common culture; stock price volatility reducing the value of equity compensation, a number of silos which resulted in "us vs them" mentality (EPC versus Project Development); recent layoffs given shift in the market away from historically subsidized markets in Europe" ((in 12 reviews)); "Long hours necessary to accomplish workload." ((in 10 reviews)); "Could have a better communication" ((in 10 reviews)); "favoritism, poor management skills, bloated management team, little opportunity for career development, too frequent re" ((in 10 reviews)); "senior management is incompetent and lazy" ((in 5 reviews))

What are employees saying about First Solar layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about First Solar layoffs and their outlook for job security at First Solar in 2026.

What are the top reviewed First Solar locations?

Perrysburg , Tempe , Toledo , Santa Clara , Trinity , Phoenix , Bridgewater , Walbridge , San Francisco , Columbus , Sunnyvale , New York , Mesa , Palmdale , Oakland , New Iberia , Tampa , Butler , Bound Brook , Jersey City , Lumberton , Decatur , Farmington , Chandler , Tucson , Portland , Elm City , Austin , Dallas , Houston

First Solar reviews

3.7

70% would recommend to a friend

(683 total reviews)

Mark Widmar

86% approve of CEO

62% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.1

Diversity & inclusion

3.7

Culture & values

3.7

Work/Life balance

3.4

Senior management

3.4

Compensation and benefits

3.3

Career opportunities

First Solar has an employee rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars, based on 683 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The First Solar employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Manufacturing industry (3.5 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

683 reviews

1.0

Nov 11, 2016

Finance/Accounting

Senior financial analyst

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Slightly Higher Salary and decent bonus if working out of the Phoenix office. Opportunity to travel to Southeast Asia. Not much else.

Cons

Management is driven by earnings. There is little regard to personal time off or work life balance. You can work all you want and perform well but there is little to no opportunity for advancement. The company will struggle to survive and attract top talent until the solar market recovers or until management changes their attitude and starts to appreciate their employees. One of their core values is "people matter" but they don't treat them as if they do. The solution is often to "hire someone in Malaysia, they are cheaper."

3.0

Nov 10, 2016

Very departmentalized

Reliability engineer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Interesting work with many intelligent leaders. Strong importance on safety, and results. Yearly bonus based on company earnings, standard 2 week starting PTO which increases at 5 years.

Cons

Heavy workloads, high expectations to work additional hours without added pay or incentive. Minimal yearly raises. Reactive and fast paced environment.

1.0

Nov 5, 2016

Nervous about the future....

Production operator

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great health, vision and dental benefits. Very clean facility. Easy work, good pay. Long off weekends. Nice cafeteria and break room!

Cons

Where do I start??? Due to the redesigning / restructuring of the solar panel, many employees are concerned about their future here at First Solar. It is apparent that we'll be headed to the unemployment line soon. With that concern, there is little enthusiasm coming into work, not knowing when our number is up. We're actually afraid for our safety as well. Minor vandalism has happened within our facility. The overall moral has declined with rumors flying around as to how we'll be "impacted" as we were told, about half the workforce will only remain.

Viewing 37 - 39 of 683 Reviews

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Jobs at First Solar

Production Operator (Nights)

Production Operator (Night Crew)

Production Operator (Days)

Production Operator (Day Crew)

First Solar

First Solar reviews

Ratings by category

Ratings by demographic groups

Reviews by job title

Finance/Accounting

Very departmentalized

Nervous about the future....

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