Upstart reviews

When Upstart laid off 20% of employees in February 2023, they selected who would go at random with no input from managers or other direct superiors. When asked for details, HR refused to say anything except "macroeconomic environment" and were quite rude during the layoff conversation. - Company does not value fraud prevention. Fraud team has to claw for every scrap of funding or attention. Engineering team refuses to implement MFA/2FA despite rising concerns about account takeover because it would mean fewer loan applications. - Communication within the company was terrible. Everyone is siloed. Huge changes would roll out without teams being notified at all. - Monthly meetings focused almost exclusively on productivity numbers rather than quality. There were several times where top-producing employees were also letting fraudulent applications slip by with a minimal amount of review because the time expectations are so rigorous that there is no time or real encouragement to be careful/thorough.

- Bewildering management decisions leading to instability and mistrust - Recent layoffs of 200 software engineers, followed by posting job listings for the same positions a month later - Lack of transparency and communication from management regarding the rationale behind the layoffs - Deterioration of the team culture and eroded confidence in the company's future - Questionable managerial competency and consideration for employee well-being