Most ungrateful company I've ever worked for - Anonymous employee Criteo Employee Review

3.0
Sep 19, 2015
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Fantastic technology and constant innovation which helps the company to deliver phenomenal growth year on year. Smart colleagues and smart senior leadership. Once a year a Global company event in France where all the company's employees meet and have fun - very few companies can afford it.

Cons

Company is obsessed with making money but forgot that it's not the algorithm that brings the money but the people who work for the company, whether its developers, sales, account strategists or marketing. Salaries are below market just because many want to work in the company. Because of the low salaries the retention rate is low. Poor middle-management - you can be the best employee consistently but the moment you make one small mistake, you are crucified by the managers. Positive feedbacks from managers are non-existent and there is a culture of bullying and intimidation which originates in the fact that many of the managers have no management experience or skills. Any constructive feedbacks and ideas that employees try to give are immediately interpreted as: 1. a challenge on manager's authority or as: 2. criticism of company. Promotions: internal promotions can be great only when the right candidates are chosen. Too often, someone gets promoted just because he has been certain time at the company although it's clear that person isn't suitable for managerial position (company compromises on quality of management because of its rapid growth) or sometimes there is no structural need for additional managerial role. You can be the best employee in your team but if your manager don't like you personally, you can forget about promotion. There are rules in terms of internal mobility however they are not applied consistently (if senior management likes you, these rules will be bent). Workload: Sales managers have to be involved from signing an advertiser through integration process and launch (they spend more time on non-sales activities). Account strategists have a huge portfolio of accounts which they can't manage so they tend to really focus on bigger accounts and ignore the rest. Technical engineers have too many integrations to look after and have the worst work-life balance in the company. Micro-management: there is clearly no trust between managers and teams, as the amount of reporting you need to do is ridiculous and is done over multiple systems which creates confusion and duplicity. Too much red tape and too much time is spent on meetings and trainings (on a regular week you will waste 8 hours on such meetings).

Explore other reviews about Criteo

5.0
Mar 25, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good work life balance, all young people.

Cons

Taking away perks that we have had for a long time. Eventually reach your cap as an IC.

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Criteo Response
1mo
We're glad to know you've had a positive experience with us all those years. Open feedback always helps us improve and move forward so thank you for sharing and for contributing to making Criteo such a special place to work.
3.0
Apr 23, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

People I worked with and the culture was great, work life balance was fantastic.

Cons

Every year now it layoffs, makes one want to ask a question. Perhaps Criteo needs a better CFO to manage the companies finances. Being every year Criteo is laying people off, yet CFO still remains. Perhaps Criteo needs to look at those who are staying a bit closer.

2
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Criteo Response
2w
Through the way they connect, build each other up, and impact one another, people make Criteo into a unique workplace every day, and we’re glad it's something you appreciated during your time with us. When it comes to our company’s future, decisions are never arbitrary but made with shared responsibility, maximum transparency, and bearing our long-term organizational health in mind. Yet, receiving open feedback, whether positive or not, is always valuable to us, so thank you for sharing yours. We wish you the best for what comes next.
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