Company culture has deteriorated under new leadership - Anonymous employee Protolabs Employee Review

1.0
31 Mar 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Used to be great company with great culture and flexibility

Cons

New CEO Surresh has come in and completely destroyed the company culture that made Protolabs a great place to work at and was often awarded as such. Every meeting is coated in anxiety and the impending doom of layoffs despite record profits. In January a RTO was announced and there has been no flexibility and a straight up refusal to provide ADA accommodations to disabled employees by the HR department. They have taken away the flexibility that they used to provide to working parents that allowed them to work in office after/before their kids go to school despite not paying a living wage that would allow them to afford additional childcare. They have also chosen to make it even more difficult for employees to even receive a meets standards on their reviews as a cruel attempt to ensure they don’t have to give reasonable raises (which are rarely above 3% as is and they don’t provide market adjustments.) It’s unrecognizable from the company it used to be. They underpay, overwork, and expect the world of their employees while refusing to treat them with respect.

Explore other reviews about Protolabs

5.0
5 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great culture and feel. Best job in my career so far

Cons

The pay could be a bit more competitive

4.0
8 May 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Protolabs has paved the way in digital manufacturing, leading with speed and ease of ordering. However over its decades in existence it fell behind new upstarts that are encroaching on its business model. With the new CEO, we are focused on reinvigorating our focus on our customer, innovation, and advancing our capabilities. With four quarters of record growth behind us, the future looks very bright.

Cons

As with any injection of new leadership and a focus on driving better outcomes for our customers, cultural norms are being challenged. What got is here, isn't going to get us to where we need to go. This cultural upheaval create fear, uncertainty and doubt at times, that leadership has to manage. However, they are unlocking investment and pushing to empower employees to better serve our customers.

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