Pfizer reviews

3.7

69% would recommend to a friend

(8,733 total reviews)
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Albert Bourla

50% approve of CEO

49% positive business outlook

Pfizer has an employee rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars, based on 8,733 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Pfizer employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Pharmaceutique et biotechnologie industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

9K reviews
3.0
Oct 2, 2008
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Benefits are above average, specially contributions toward 401K that are matched to one's age (the older one is, the higher the company's contribution). Health plan options abound to accommodate most situations. One has access to some of the most knowledgeable individuals in this industry, people that really show up to the right thing.

Cons

Pfizer has been trying to turn its financial woes around for at least 5 years. It has lost patent protection, and thus significant sources of revenue, in at least 10 products. The mother of them all, Lipitor, is just up ahead. The sever restructuring this has triggered, i.e., head count reductions, have gutted this company of talented personnel. If people are a company's most value assets, I am having a hard time seeing how that is being factor in decisions involving massive layoffs. We have gone from 94 manufacturing plants globally just 5 years ago to less than 40 by year's end. Manufacturing sites have become sourcing sites that compete with each other to remain part of the manufacturing network. How can US sites compete, cost-wise, with sites in India or China???? I see US sites "running scared" and that fear paralyzes decision-making and discourages innovation. Pfizer is shrinking and with it the necessary incentives for its employees to be engaged.

2.0
Oct 1, 2008
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

work life balance is excellent. The challenge associated with work is minimal

Cons

Pfizer provides minimal to no upward mobility for their employees. The company is constantly reorganizing and as part of these reorganizations they are loosing the core identity. This only matters because a large number of the senior leaders (Sr Director Level) are oldschool Pfizer/Warner Lambert/Pharmacia employees which steers direction of the groups. Organization is hurting in short term

3.0
Sep 24, 2008
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Pfizer's compensation is one of the best reasons to work there. They typically pay higher salaries and have a much better benefits package than equal jobs in other companies. The higher compensation has the added benefit of drawing a wide range of fairly qualified people. The colleagues I work with are generally very intelligent and understand there job responsibilities. The benefits -- medical, dental, vision, insurance options, including the potential of signing up for a legal plan -- are excellent. They are also much less expensive than other places. (It pays to be big!) They also allow the flexibility to choose from different options to tailor your own coverage.

Cons

The high compensation has some downsides. It tends to attract people, who are very educated and intelligent, but who don't necessarily have the impetus to work as a team. At least in the location where I worked, there tended to be an "every man for himself" attitude. Furthermore, many people who had been there for a number of years felt entitled. The attitude extends to promotion practices and opportunities for growth. Pfizer touts there "open job posting" system, but in my experience this is only a cover. Decisions on promotions and new positions are made by a few people and are often based on who you know, not what you are qualified for. The open job posting system also allows for managers to "wash their hands" of any responsibility in promotion or development of their employees. While I agree that it should be the employee's responsibility to manage his/her own career, many employees don't have insight into what other positions really mean or what they might be qualified for -- especially in such a large company.

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