production associate

machine operator

team leader

production engineer

manufacturing specialist

DENSO

Leaders get little direction, which is good and bad. You have a lot of autonomy and freedom to make your own decisions  But it's because people above you usually don't know much about what you do or don't have time to deal with you.   You never have clear direction, the training is nonexistent, and you aren't given clear goals. I don't think this is any particular person's fault.  Management has been stretched so thin due to labor reduction demands, nobody has time to define jobs or manage and develop the person below them.  Plus managers get moved around a lot without any regard to experience or expertise.  Many don't like change and don't learn  the areas they manage because they either don't care and/or know they'll likely be moved again. It basically comes down to not letting your area crash and burn while posting charts that nobody looks at. 

The company seems to be growing, so promotions are available. 
 But Evaluations and promotions are clearly not based on performance, even though this is what they preach. Raises and bonuses are decided based on a normal distribution curve.  Promotions are even weirder.  Lots of nepotism and/or promoting poor performers or bad attitudes out of the way rather than correcting the problems.  It's easier to promote them into roles where they can't cause direct problems, so that's what happens. 

Work life balances is also a big issue.  There is little structure to your job. You spend a lot of time reacting.  Support groups aren't held accountable much and roles aren't clearly defined, so you're spend a lot of time trying to strong arm 10 different support groups into addressing technical problems. And they usually just put it back in your lap.

It wasn't a bad place to work.  The problem is that it grew faster than management, support groups, and infrastructure could keep up.  With all the constant movement of managers and lack of investment in updating infrastructure, nobody can get it under control.  It's all dependent on individuals who choose to care and put lots of hours in.

Terrible company to work for.  Wouldn't recommend anyone going to this company.  They do not pay at all.  Raises are non existent and bonuses are a joke.  In 4 years they averaged $200.  There are absolutely no opportunities for job advancement at all.  They treat you like robots.  Everyone goes to lunch at the same time and everyone returns to work at the same time.  They watch everything you do all day.  Very regimented. You are a hostage to your chair.  They turn off every other light in the building to save money.  Seriously, there was only one light in the bathroom.  The carpet is filthy from food stains, all the desks and chairs are more than 10 to 15 years old.  They don't have work from home opportunities.  They will tell you they do, but the reality is they don't trust anyone to work from home.  The management is horrible and I have personally watched many managers get demoted.  Systems are more than 40 years old so there are always always problems.  They will always try to the cheap route instead of investing in systems that actually work.  The morale is absolutely horrible and many of the senior managers have left the company because it's run so terrible.  Part of the problem is that they bring Japanese ex pats in to run the company.  While they are very nice, you must train them and that takes a couple of years.  What's scary is that some of the people at this company have had the same job for more than 20 years!  Thats because there is no advancement opportunities available.  You will never get approved for training ever and forget about going to a conference, that will never happen.  They hire lots of temps telling them they have an opportunity to get hired.  It never happened with anyone.  So  so many people thought they would get hired, but they never did.  They just wanted to use them.  

So, If you don't mind being treated like a robot, having your every move watched, going to lunch at 12:00 sharp and returning at 1:00, getting paid peanuts and never getting a raise.  Then this is your company.  If you are smart, STAY AWAY

Denso is one of the best paying jobs in the area especially if you didn’t continue your education. It’s easy work too. You will never be short on your bills while working here & will always be able to afford a nice quality of life. Just look at the parking lot when you drive by, almost everyone drives a nicer & newer car. If by any means you want more hours they are always available. The locals respect Denso workers because they know they work a lot of hours. Yes, those hours are long but that’s required if you want to achieve your goals outside of just making ends meet. I’ve noticed the people that dislike it usually just have a poor work ethic & will complain about having to work anywhere. If you’re willing to put in the hours & show up on time there is plenty of room for growth in your salary as well as your career. Yes, you will miss out on family time & may end up working the weekend but in my opinion too many hours is better than too few, and there are plenty of other employers out there that will give you a steady 20 hrs/week if that’s what you prefer. Don’t come to Denso if that is what you’re looking for, be prepared to work but be prepared to be financially stable & achieve your goals as well. It’s also not required that you stay at Denso permanently, you can always use your employment there as a stepping stone. 

The only negative I have to mention would be that if you’re an attractive female be prepared for some harassment. This is a male dominated work environment & the men aren’t used to seeing attractive females in the workplace. Most the guys have manners & are very polite at least when they’re around you but you’ll always have a few creepers or guys who act inappropriately. You can report these incidents to AR but they never bothered me enough to go that far. I always just rolled my eyes or gave them some attitude & went about my day. If you’re sensitive or not used to harassment this could become a problem for you.

If the thought of working 50, 60, or 70 hours a week while standing on a concrete floor the entire time with absolutely no work/life balance appeals to you, this is the perfect place! Might as well bring all your belongings with you, because you're moving in here. You are required to work "scheduled" overtime, or you accrue points that count against you. "Scheduled" overtime can mean being told at the very end of your last shift that you must work the next day - and if you don't, you get in trouble. That happened to my line, and when we showed up Saturday, there was no work for us to even do! We are given goals to reach every day. Even when we reach them (which is difficult to do when the machines are constantly going down), guess what? We're told last-minute that we're working 8+ more hours on top of our 50+ already worked. I literally had to quit playing sports and most of my hobbies because there is simply no time and I don't have the energy after standing on concrete floors for 60 hours (not clear why they can't have mats to stand on, but I guess the people who are in charge of that decision aren't the ones suffering). I also know of an employee that has worked there for years that had points counted against them for days they had permission to miss. Also, if you're new and have an appointment during the first 90 days, you're getting in trouble for that too. The breaks are a bit of a joke because there are no break rooms in the work area - you must walk across the building (depending on where your line is), remove your jacket, hat/hair net, and shoes before you can even sit down and then account for time to put all that back on all in ~14 minutes. The benefits are very decent, but this company seems to have forgotten that they wouldn't exist without their employees. Treat us better. We show up. We work hard. 1 star given for my awesome team, and another for my awesome team lead.

I was a Team Leader at Denso Air Systems, My experience was not that great. I was given impossible tasks and had unreasonable deadlines. The machines were in horrible shape and would break down everyday for hours at a time causing us to barely make shipment. The associates were all disgruntled because they worked endless overtime, they hire in felons as well. The assistant managers are know it alls and will not listen to anything you have to say. They will bury you with work loads and yell at you if you become behind. The production supervisors do not know anything or understand the processes they just make demands (very aggressively). Some supervisors would have inappropriate relations with operators as well. Constant back stabbing, if you come here trust no one.   The pay was very little conpared to everything I had to do. 19.45 an hour is not good enough when you have to be a technician, supervisor, trainer, auditor and qc control, tons of paperwork that literally will consume your day and they expect it to be done within 30 minutes. The only positive about the conpany is the benefits but this place does not respect their employees. There has been four Team Leaders quit within a month including me. The turnover is high and part of that is in the summer. The heat is horrible internally.  This place will work you to death for little pay. If you hired in outside the company expect to work 2nd or 3rd. 2nd shift has two maintenance guys for the whole building/both department's so you are stuck trying to fix stuff you barely have experience on because you was never trained on any of it.  The president is a stand-up guy thats the only thing I will say is good about the business aspect of the company.

Depending on where you work at in the plant, you're working anywhere from 8-12 hours a days, 6 and 7 days a week. For what we get paid, it's not worth working that much. They promote work life balance, but there isn't a balance. You hardly ever see your family. 

If you are looking for a place that has a great opportunity for advancement, this is not the place for you. Another thing that is promoted with in the company is promoting from within, and there is also a Leadership Academy. Your chances of getting promoted from within, or getting a tech job are slim to none. The only people that seem to get promotions are those who are incompetent, or are in a buddy system. Or, they just hire people from outside the company to fill the leadership spots.

There is some favoritism and buddy systems throughout the plant which involve some of the leadership, which make things frustrating for those who are busting their butts, while others are just hanging out and milking the clock. +Aside from that, most of the leadership is there for you and willing to help anyway they can, along with a lot of the more seasoned associates.  

Over all I enjoy working for the company, but not so much working the crazy long hours, making less than some of the other manufacturing companies with in 20 miles, and having no life. I would recommend the company, but give fair warning that you will get burnt out quick if you're not used to working in a physical environment for long periods of time.

I was required to keep daily records of progress before, during and after shift and if any maintenance was required that potting operators could not fix themselves. I changed, built, and disassembled large and small measuring pumps, heated hoses, short hose, ball valves, nozzle’s, & clear line. I did tank changes every 2 1/2hrs for a de-foaming process if the resin or hardener needed to be changed that supplied those tanks I had to manually change them, I inspected parts as they come through any time I started up from a shutdown, If any problems arised that my wiper noticed I had to troubleshoot and fix the problem or bad parts would be made. I have trained several wipers and was responsible for relieving for breaks/lunch etc. while still running the line. Anytime the line had a problem from the front stock thru the preheater in the line that epoxy was put into the parts, to the depiler where they were loaded in stacks of 4 pallets and put into the curing oven thru the rear stock into another depiler to be sent out to final inspection I was in charge of dealing with. When no parts were present I had to load dummy pallets and run for 45 mins at a time to keep material moving. If coil assembly was down and I had parts on pallets I had to manually load into the rear stock in stacks of 2. I had to do manual level checks if material was running low and had to troubleshoot to find the problem. I have had to flush the entire machine out during the holidays. I also had to be certified for confined space entry.

The company is going through a tough period due to economic challenges like tariffs and reduced demand. While a few departments are still busy, many others are cutting hours—encouraging employees to leave early or use vacation time. Although there haven’t been formal layoffs, the reduction in hours has made it difficult to get a full 40-hour week, which impacts financial stability.

There’s also a noticeable imbalance in how employees are treated. Newer or lower-seniority associates are often singled out for warnings, while similar issues from higher-seniority employees are ignored. Leadership and internal mobility processes lack transparency, making it hard to grow within the company despite what is promised during orientation.

HR—now called “Business Partners”—has become less approachable. Their new office setup has created a physical and psychological barrier. Most interactions are quick and unhelpful, often ending with a flyer and little actual support.

Benefits and pay structure are also below expectations. Biweekly pay is inconvenient for many, and the insurance options are not competitive. Several employees, including myself, have opted for outside coverage.

Overall, morale is low and productivity is suffering, largely due to inconsistent leadership and lack of support for employee development. Unless significant changes are made, it’s hard to see a long-term future here.

Supervisor starts out by asking why all the daily projects are not complete in the first hour of the day. Forget about checking for hot issues on email from previous shifts. That just get condescending remarks. Most the time that you should know that the emails state before reading them. So, go to the production line and communicate with the production management, trouble shooters, team leaders. This only irritates your management more, with more condescending remarks. Seems the American management feels the need to impress the japanese by being very difficult to work with. My time there I documented millions of dollars of waste just so some managers didn't look bad for not taking care of issues years before.
Only very few co workers were trustworthy to follow procedures. Most considered quality the least of the worry. Getting as many productions numbers as possible, any way possible was the status quo. If anyone went against the status quo, they were quickly redirectd to other projects.
Hardest part of the job was watching bad product get shipped with no management caring. Constant sort/reworks which were only partially effective. Some had to be done several times and still shipped bad parts. Management always finding ways to decrease benefits.
Money was ok. Leaving was the best part. 

At Denso Manufacturing MI, they put out thousands of parts a day to customers. Some lines produce less than others or have higher numbers to make causing overtime. For me personally, my experience as a temporary was fantastic. I had a great team leader, great co-workers, and a great work environment. I learned how to really be a good team player and feel as though my work was appreciated. Once I went to HVAC, things changed and continued on a downward spiral. My team leader wasn't very attentive to the needs of the people on the line, there was some controversy about how things were handled on the line, and the work environment became very tense and seemed as though rarely anyone got along. I had brought issues to his attention and most of the time things were blown off as if nothing was ever said. Slowly the balance of work life/ home life became more work life than anything else because things weren't being handled as they should have been. The hardest part of my job honestly was having to sit back and watch the line fall deeper and deeper behind and not be able to do anything other than watch it happen, it was all out of my realm of control. The most enjoyable part was knowing I had done whatever I could to keep things in order on my end and there wasn't room for anything to be questioned about how I did my job.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Production associate 5 salaries reported	$22.40 per hour
Machine operator 5 salaries reported	$19.94 per hour
Team leader 8 salaries reported	$65,700 per year
Production engineer 1 salary reported	$74,000 per year
Manufacturing specialist 2 salaries reported	$19.00 per hour

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