employer cover photo
employer logo
employer logo

Tokyo Electron

Is this your company?

Tokyo Electron reviews

4.0

77% would recommend to a friend

(571 total reviews)

Terry Higashi

68% approve of CEO

78% positive business outlook

Tokyo Electron has an employee rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars, based on 571 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Tokyo Electron employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Manufacturing industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

571 reviews
3.0
Mar 30, 2011

Meh.

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Interesting industry. When in an "up" cycle, lots of trips--both domestic and international--and GREAT bonuses. Austin office has very friendly people, and feels like a smaller company, but with deep pockets.

Cons

One word: Politics. More words: Too much red tape to get anything done! Too much control from HQ in Japan, and not enough willingness to try to change processes and systems for the better. Even in the American subsidiaries, there's very much a good ol' boy culture--hitch your wagon to the right person, and you'll go far, but get on the wrong side of the politics, and you're out to pasture. The dress code and telecommuting policies are way behind the times, especially for Austin. Meaning, buttoned-up business dress and telecommuting not allowed. There is also basically no opportunity for meaningful career advancement besides moving into management. For people with no interest in managing other people, or who are in departments already saturated with middle managers, there's nowhere to go.

4.0
Feb 20, 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

TEL has a lot of great people working in the US, both expats and US citizens. TEL pays bonuses twice a year, and the target is at least 20% total for the year (10% of your salary every six months). In a good year that's a great thing, in a great year they go higher. and in a nasty downturn they can disappear altogether. If you're a lucky and resourceful, you can do some meaningful research, publish, work with academic groups, etc. and earn a good salary working for TEL. Also, unlike US semiconductor companies, TEL very rarely lays off employees- that's a true Japanese cultural difference- they don't hire quickly in upturns and they rarely lay people off- though they do bring in temporary/contract workers that they can let go in a downturn without laying off an employee.

Cons

You are a gaijin working for a Japanese Company. If you want to be CEO one day, then better look elsewhwere, nobody on the board is non-Japanese. Senior US management is generally hired from outside, not within, TEL America, so there is very little upward mobility. And most of the US workforce is field service- so if you are in R&D and want to go into management, you might need to become a field service manager to do it. Middle management is entrenched, earning good salaries, and they've generally resigned themselves to the fact that they won't ever rise beyond Director level (with maybe 1 or 2 exceptions). There is a technical ladder- but for the past couple years it hasn't really functioned. So, eventually the glass ceiling will loom. It's up to you what direction you want to take.

Viewing 565 - 567 of 571 Reviews

Glassdoor has 740 Tokyo Electron reviews submitted anonymously by Tokyo Electron employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Tokyo Electron is right for you.