Used to be great, now poor - Principal Scientist AstraZeneca Employee Review

2.0
23 May 2013
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

High salary, great benefits. The scientists are highly qualified and most are great people to work with. The facilities are well designed and a wonderful space to work in.

Cons

- Constant stream of layoffs has created an atmosphere of fear. Scapegoating which was unheard of a few years ago is now common, with managers throwing their reports under the bus to save their own skins. - There is a constant blame shifting atmosphere as individuals struggle to avoid responsibility for fear of being targeted in the next series of layoffs. This leads to both to scapegoating and to endless series of meetings to attempt to reach a consensus decision on almost everything. Unfortunately unless everyone agrees no one will agree and while clear cut yes/no decisions are made, decisions in the grey area are trapped in an endless series of meetings with no one willing to say yes or no. - New senior management has encouraged an extremely political atmosphere in which office politics and backstabbing are paramount. As a result the primary focus of middle management has shifted from discovering new drugs to surviving office politics. - There has been an extremely rapid series of reorganizations/business plan shifts. This is extremely disruptive. Drug development is a long process with drugs taking years to progress from discovery to the marketplace. Changing business plans every year or two doesn't work with a development process that long and just makes the pipeline problem worse. - There is a significant pipeline problem that everyone new was coming but senior management made inadequate preparations and now lower level employees are suffering while the senior level people who made the bad decisions are leaving with very golden parachutes.

Explore other reviews about AstraZeneca

5.0
8 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great benefits, good pay, healthy growth potential

Cons

Big company, not the most flexibility

5.0
22 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I imagine this is very dependent on line management but I find my team and supervisors to be true champions of a high performing and highly compassionate work culture. I find my work challenging and rewarding, and have had opportunities to learn and grow and be rewarded and recognized for my output. No job is perfect but I’m truly happy to work here and at a time when AZ is truly rising like a rocket.

Cons

Like any massive global corporate entity, things can sometimes move slowly and it can be challenging to navigate a high number of constantly evolving priorities and initiatives. That being said, AZ is very clear about its north stars and values which makes it possible to prioritize work that has the most impact and alignment with the company’s ambition and business prerogatives. 60% office attendance policy is also a bit funny when oftentimes I am on Teams calls with colleagues sitting in other areas of the world.

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