Profits over People - Senior Designer Celtra Employee Review

I joined with high expectations and initially believed in the company’s culture and leadership. Unfortunately, my experience did not align with the image presented. Deadlines were frequently unrealistic, and deals often felt oversold. Teams were expected to “do whatever it takes” to deliver, including working late nights and weekends. Sustained overtime was normalized rather than treated as an exception. Work-life balance was discussed, but not consistently practiced. Opportunities for growth were extremely limited, particularly within the Studio team. Much of the work felt production-driven, focused on pushing volume rather than developing talent or creativity. Advancement pathways were unclear, and high-performing contributors were not consistently given opportunities to expand their scope or demonstrate broader skill sets. Visibility and access to growth opportunities appeared uneven. If you were not closely aligned with leadership, it was difficult to receive stretch assignments or revised responsibilities. Meanwhile, the Director's responsibilities were restructured in ways that allowed certain individuals’ strengths to shine, while those of us responsible for critical day-to-day delivery were expected to simply absorb the increasing workload and be pixel-perfect under extreme pressure. Diversity in the U.S. and U.K office was extremely limited, particularly for Black employees. Representation was low to begin with and declined further following layoffs and sudden firings. For a company that speaks publicly about inclusion, the reality did not reflect meaningful investment in diverse talent. Performance management practices lacked transparency. I received “meets expectations” ratings in formal reviews, only to later be told during a 1:1 that my termination was due to poor performance and a rating of "does not meet expectations". This contradicted documented feedback and created confusion around how performance was actually evaluated. There were also disparities between offices. While the main office hosted multi-day retreats and team events, the New York office received minimal comparable investment. Frequent restructures and shifting priorities made it difficult to build stability. The company appears to be under competitive pressure, and rapid changes often feel reactive rather than strategic. I worked late nights and weekends, sacrificing personal time with my family. Being let go under unclear circumstances after that level of commitment was deeply disappointing.