Lincoln Electric reviews

I can't name all of the cons but I'll give you a few. Lincoln is still living off of its old reputation. They used to actually take care of their employees and compensated them well. But now the times have changed and management thinks that the people on the floor make too much money. The piecework system is antiquated and is almost akin to working in a sweatshop. I've seen people work 12hrs and make $20 for the day. The company can arbitrarily cut prices on a products piece price to cut wages for employees. For instance, today you could produce 10,000 lbs and make about $22.00/hr. Tomorrow you can run the same amount of material and be making $15.00/hr. All the while that products price wasn't cut in the store. Lincoln will make more money off of that product now that they are paying their employees less to produce it. The bonus system is a joke. If you've worked there for any length of time you'll know that it's not a bonus. Its deferred compensation. They are just holding part of your pay until the end of the year and then will decide if they will distribute it. How can the company do better than last year financially, but the bonus this year is slated to be less than last year. Its profit sharing right? Many employees come to Lincoln with the promise that if you show up to work and work hard, that you will have a big bonus at the end of the year. Then after busting their behinds all year trying to live up to expectations, they soon find that you will never meet those expectations. Alot of times, you aren't even given a set of goals to meet. But that won't stop them from using it against you in your review. Many of the supervisors have a phrase that they use as an excuse to steal your points. It might be in the Lincoln management handbook of bs. If you hear "we are raising the bar", just know that you've been had. They continuously change the rules in the middle of the game. Its a game of politics and if you are well liked, then you may get good points. But the minute you stand up for yourself or ask why something is happening, you will be branded and your points will suffer. This time of year, people used to walk around the place smiling and laughing. Not so much anymore. Its very depressing showing up to work. If you work there, you know with the swing shift, Lincoln controls most of your life. Especially if you are on 10-12hr shifts. Preferential treatment is given in some depts to individuals to accommodate them or management so that they can work a straight shift and not have to swing. That happens at the expense of those that do swing and causes discontent in some depts. Last but not least, it is widely known that Lincoln loves snitches, brown nosers, and those who cheat. When I first started working there, I encountered tattle telling on another level, by a grownup. It blew me away. The company stresses teamwork but the whole system is geared towards individuals. I've seen employees get their ideas stolen by management, after being told that it was too expensive to implement. I've seen people get told in because someone didn't like their body language. (No lie). Its crazy! This may sound like a disgruntled employee but that's not the case at all. I've actually done ok there. I just recognize bs when I see it and would like to let everyone know before they submit their application.

It does not matter to Lincoln how smart you are or what you are capable of, they just want robots to perform tasks, many of which are a waste of time and resources. Product quality and customer needs come after time to market. The company has a get it done get it out attitude, which leads to garbage products going out the door. Lincoln is continually playing catch-up with their competitors and not investing in innovation and product support as a self proclaimed "World Leader" would do. The base pay is very low and the bonus does not bring you up to industry average. If you have a disagreement with someone that is friends with management, don't expect to get a good bonus. Mechanical engineers are viewed as easily replaceable and have no voice with Lincoln.