Pros
Unfortunately, many employees blame U.S. leadership for issues that stem at the very top of the company in China. Often this is from ignorance since they don’t work with that part of the company or don’t have experience working with Chinese companies in general. The start-up chaos and lack of clarity that the reviewers refer to goes all the way to China and is not a U.S. only issue.
NIO in China runs a very vehicle-centric vehicle program and thinks about the U.S. hardware modules and software as afterthoughts. This creates a lot of issues down the line. However, U.S. leadership is addressing these issues by trying to integrate with the planning process more. It’s a long process since most people who run this program in China have traditional automotive backgrounds and simply don’t understand the purpose of such changes.
Also, issues are created with U.S. vs China working cultures. China hands us unrealistic deadlines that everyone knows are unrealistic. In China, you don’t push back on authority you just say yes, even if you can’t deliver. In the U.S., this type of behavior baffles us and leads to a lot of frustration.
In general, these are issues that are expected at any company that is operating in both China and the U.S. and is bridging the divide between automotive and high-tech. Yes, there have been road bumps along the way, but it’s truly incredible how much has been accomplished in the last 3-4 years.
Pros
• There are no real jerks at the company. Everyone is genuinely nice.
• Smart and talented people
• Lots of opportunity to shine if you take the initiative. (The issue is that there are many employees who come from large tech or automotive companies who expect the same amount of hand holding they received at their last job. This is a start-up, you will not get that experience here)
• Great benefits and snacks
• Unlimited time off
• Padma – she seems like a great person and doing the best job she can being China’s middleman. I am sure it’s not a fun job
Cons
• Poor job on China’s part in integrating U.S. tech into the overall vehicle planning process. China treats our hardware modules and software as an afterthought which creates issues down the line. Vehicle program planning needs to be updated to not be purely automotive driven
• Better lunches
• These Glassdoor reviews by disgruntled employees. NIO has won several awards for being a good place to work. It's frustrating to only read reviews of folks who don't like it. There is a silent majority who is quite happy working here.
