American Express reviews

With the loss of CostCo and the organization's failure to attract new clientele, American Express is going to what it knows best. Layoffs. You'd be absolutely amazed by the number of people this place has let go over the past 10 years. The pace has picked up considerably as of late with the announcement of a billion dollars in reductions. Every meeting we are reminded of the layoffs that will be taking place well into 2017. Thousands and thousands of employees will be out of work. Additionally, the organization is a HUGE believer in moving formerly American based positions to India. While our Indian counterparts are smart, it's difficult to understand them and the hours are almost completely opposite. So if you have a question or need something, it takes a full 24 hours to get a response slowing the process and adding unnecessary frustration. From what I have seen, the organization focuses on laying off their most tenured (expensive) employees, but what I don't understand is what message does that send your current up-and-comers? That you work hard for 10-15-20 years and you'll be replaced by the cheaper alternative? The organization also force ranks its employees meaning someone has to be the bottom. So if you have a team of 10 AMAZING employees, the organization still forces the managers into ranking someone at the bottom. The purpose of this is an ever-ready list of people to layoff at a moments notice. The result these company practices is nothing short of a toxic workplace. The high performers seem to be leaving in droves. The employees who don't know if they're being laid off are upset, anxious and apathetic. I always hear the phrase "honestly I don't care" when trying to get work done. The executives are just absolutely clueless on how to lead people. In a townhall recently someone asked "are you worried about great people leaving?" The exec's response was "well those aren't the type of people I'd want here anyway." So let me get this straight......you want people to be loyal to your organization, but your organization shows absolutely zero loyalty in return? Please..... I began looking for work as soon as they announced the layoffs as no one (especially me) wants an uncertain future where any month could be the month I can't pay my mortgage. I can happily say that I will be leaving the organization shortly! I cannot wait to quit this company for good.

Pay is terrible. Expect to make 50% more at any competitor. And good luck to you if you've been loyal to the company. Expect to make less than all of your peers and to be told at year end that "2%" is a great raise! Political garbage masked under the facade of jeans and sneakers. Make no mistake, everyone here is eager to throw you under the bus. I have never met so many mean people in competition with one another (as a result of poor leadership, also throwing their peers under the bus). Too many MBA's in mid-level management who don't know how to do work but frantically run around from meeting to meeting, giving the illusion of doing work. People with airs of self-importance over meaningless jobs are at every corner. What takes any other place a week would take Amex about 6 months - no one here is brave enough to make a decision and VPs are micro-managers who need their managers running through every rabbit hole before getting to "yes." And when something does take too long for a reason, there is always someone to blame, rather than the understanding that Amex is a huge company that requires a lot of back and forth and facilitation among the teams. It doesn't get any more political than this place, where you're valued on how many coffee chats you have, how pretty your decks are (for internal meetings. Did I miss the memo on needing an agency design degree to present to my boss?), rather than your work. "Thought leadership" constantly pushed, but then ideas are dismissed immediately. Incredibly de-motivating place to work when you have to jump through hoops and are encouraged to fake a personality if you are not exactly "Blue Box." I've heard of someone whose leader now makes the team do two networking activities a week. This is more like summer camp where employees are scolded and babied rather than treated like adults with decision-making power. This place is utterly lacking in heart. The eagerness with which tones of condescension are employed rather than camaraderie and light-heartedness is astounding.