packaging operator

media planner

marketing analyst

human resources specialist

communications intern

Barilla Group

The good:
The pay is better than fair for the work preformed and 401k match, dollar for dollar, up to 6% is quite good

Lots of little perks like free meals, shirts and other swag.  Food trucks  onsite sometimes. Pay bonus tied to plant performance and safety

Most coworkers are genuinely decent people. Jerks are at a minimum. 

On your 7th consecutive day of work you are paid double time

The bad:
Barilla is their own worst enemy. It’s a never ending cycle  of being short handed because they have high turnover and they have high turnover because their training is a Baptism by fire 

The training here is atrocious.  You are shown the basics and just enough to run in a best case scenario.  The most accurate description of training is to watch a YouTube video of how to fix a timing chain on a Cadillac CTS at 1.5 speed and in German and be expected to retain that   I actually had a trainer say that the longer tenured people know that the majority of people they train will be gone in a couple months so they don’t train newbies as the should.  They have manuals which layout some procedures, often with incorrect information, and is the goto response (to use the manuals) instead of a trainer helping. Barilla should probably rethink this because I would wager the majority of people wont retain and learn from this method.  For me, it just showed me how little they cared about my success. 

You don’t have a set machine; you will be moved around a LOT.  Sometimes several machines in a night. In my first 15 shifts I was on 6 different machines.  Hard to learn and retain each machine’s personality without familiarity   It seems they would rather you be less than average or ok on 5 machines instead of engaged and a rockstar good at a couple machines

If you do get hired and you find out you’re in the expansion area, just start looking for another job.  It’s a quagmire.  In orientation a leader of another department asked where we were going.  After hearing expansion their reply was “I’m sorry.”  They tried to backtrack the statement but after being there a couple days I can total relate to the statement. 

High turnover, high absence, poor communication, cliquey and a totally apathetic attitude to people’s growth and success.  

Most everyone considers this a paycheck and are not engaged, unless they are one of the few that’s wants to climb the ladder

The office is horribly out of touch with the production staff, making getting a hold of someone or reporting problems almost impossible. Not to mention the EXTREME attitude differences of either staff base. 

It is by no exaggeration or hyperbole that only one person does anything in the office,  the HR person, who is so overworked you can't bring any problems to them. The rest of the staff is dangerously incompetent and their attitude borders on toxic positivity, blind to all problems around them.

That said, it's the easiest job you will ever do, You could train a monkey to do almost any job there. Which brings us to another problem, The job is so automated and easy there is nothing to do for half hours at a time, which breeds extreme boredom and that turns into malice. 

Everyone HATES each other. 

Every person on every shift, hates everyone. It's uncanny, I have never seen anything like it.

Quick-fire cons :

Their attendance policy ensures you will never get a raise.
Completely miserable co-workers. Can go 12 1/2 hours not seeing one smile or joke.
Dangerously incompetent from normal supervisors upward.

Quick-fire pros :

Their attendance policy ensures you will never get fired.
Immediate benefits, and a decent amount of them. They need to keep people.
Pay is insanely high for how soul-crushing the work is. They need to keep people.

Summary :

If you want to trade your soul for some green paper, go for it! Otherwise you get to experience this absolute fever dream of a workplace and appreciate anywhere else you go tenfold.

Many right-wing bullies at Barilla Ames, with management not even trying to reign them in.  Poor communication from management except when it comes time to discipline.  Training is usually poor because they are permanently shorthanded which means they put you to work immediately.  Physically demanding work,  running multiple poorly maintained machines and only giving the minimum breaks required by law.  401(k) is average, with no pension.  Bonuses are not large, but are paid usually before Christmas, which is helpful. Healthcare and Dental plans are expensive with high deductibles, or very expensive with low deductibles.  The pay is enough to keep people from seeking a different job but the raises only just keep up with inflation.  There is almost no possibility of a promotion unless you have a college degree or are willing to go to night shift    as a supervisor, which pays about the same as hourly+overtime. Supervisor positions are a dead end. Trainer position(s) are also a possibility, but I have never seen anyone promoted beyond that.  Many layers of red tape when dealing with inflexible management.

What is the best part of working at the company?
There is none , supervisors are terrible , some have no people skills at all , they tell u if u need anything just let them know but that never happens .machines are always broken . Most of  the maintenance staff has no idea what they are doing and have poor attitudes thinking they are better then u , staff is very clickey and if u don't fit in with the click they don't like you and find ways to cry to the supervisors untill you get fired , trying is extremely poor at best and very high rate of employee turn over

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Never know if u will have a job tomorrow 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Very clickey ,  people are very phony everybody talks behind each other's backs

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Long hours ( 12 hrs shifts , constantly under pressure to produce with supervisors looking over your shoulder with a pen and paper looking to write you up for not enough production , even if that low production is due to repair issues because the machines break down all day every day

Running high speed packaging equipment was a great challenge and highly rewarding. I learned many things about the handling of food based equipment and the high level of quality involved. The co-workers were easy going, fun to work with and would help out each other when the situation arose. Management would let you do you're thing and work independently but would always be there if there were any questions. The most challenging part of the job were changeovers. Doing a format change in a required amount of time, making sure the machine was properly sanitized and clean and all components for the correct size were properly installed. The best part was getting out a record amount of product with no issues and remaining within the strict quality guidelines.

A typical workday consists of 12 hours running various types of packaging machines. The management team is very active without being overbearing. What I have learned throughout my career here it that there are companies out there that really do care about their employees and make you feel that you are part of a team.  The hardest part of the job that I have seen coworkers struggle with is the 12-hour shifts and working every other weekend.  The most enjoyable part of the job for me was learning all the equipment throughout my career and to be able to grow within the company and becoming part of the management team. The culture here is first and foremost the safety and success of their employees.   

Have their labor policies written in such a way that if you miss 1 night of overtime, even if you were begged by your supervisors to cover because they are so short staffed. you are ineligible for your first real raise for an entire year. they get away with this by naming it "pay for skills" to hide the fact it's your actual real raise. They also seem to be absolutely OK having an unbelievably high worker turn over rate. As a matter of fact it was so bad more than once I didn't know half the people I worked with names. Basically their employee hand book is written out to completely optimize their labor costs. It's very legal but it's also very immoral. Just my opinion and experience. 🤷‍♂️ 

Considering everyone will buy pasta, the good part is is that the place will never close it's doors.  There's plenty of work to do and you can work ALL the hours you could ever work in a week.  The down side is is that if you ever get a target on your back for having an idea that isn't the kind of idea the company wants you to have you will have many years of trouble if they keep you that long.  Communication in that regard is terrible, if you're doing something wrong they won't tell you about it until it's too late and you're having disciplinary action taken against you and no real reason to what is even happening until they call you back into work.  I feel they could do better in that regard, but if you keep your head down and like money this is the best place for you to work!

I truly think Barilla is a great company to work for. The only real downside is the 12 hour swing shifts which can be hard but you do get used to them. Coworkers on every shift are super helpful, the working environment can be stressful at times but not impossible, floor managers are easy to talk with as well as upper management, and the job can provide a real sense of accomplishment. Pay is good, benefits are also good, and they don't force you to do overtime however you can always sign up for it if you want it. Overall this is the best company I have ever worked for. 

Great facility! Smells like fresh bread/pasta in the building. Very safe environment. Great benefits. The shift schedule makes for a great home/ life balance. The maintenance department is very helpful and has helped me succeed in my work. Management is a little heavy on the day-shift but none hover behind you while you work which makes for a great workday. Most operators are very competent and can solve most of the problems on their own and if that fails then a very experienced maintenance team will solve the problem. I wish I could work there until retirement but I had to move closer to family.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Packaging operator 1 salary reported	$35,000 per year
Media planner 1 salary reported	$72,500 per year
Marketing analyst 1 salary reported	$80,000 per year
Human resources specialist 1 salary reported	$23.00 per hour
Communications intern 1 salary reported	$16.59 per hour

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