maintenance technician

quality technician

tool maker

production associate

tool and die maker

Gestamp

I would highly recommend looking for another company, if you have any automotive experience you can do better than this.  Full disclosure I only interviewed with Gestamp and was not made an offer, however, from the time I interviewed (late October 2016) until the time I was told that “they had made the decision to pursue other candidates” (second week in January 2017) it was just shy of 3 months, the recruiter I had interviewed with was in constant contact to ensure I was still interested in the position.  This involved text messages asking me to stay tuned as they finished the interviewing process.  I am not bitter that they passed on me as time went by I was becoming less and less interested. I only interviewed with the HR rep and the person to whom I would report.  I thought it was odd to only have two people to interview with given I have been in automotive for more than a decade and in other interviews at other companies I had always talked to at least five people.  If it took them 3 months to make an employment decision I could only imagine how difficult strategic planning would be for them. 

My first interview was cancelled only 3 hours prior because the person I would interview with was unexpectedly pulled out of town for meetings.  After I did have the interview, the recruiter talked salary/ benefits with me and made it clear that I was a leading candidate.  The recruiter and I continued to exchange emails for two months, I finally asked for a decision the week of Thanksgiving given it had been a month and made it clear that I had put my job search on hold given I kept receiving emails asking me to stay interested. Emails and text messages that I received in November and December all said that no decision had been made and to be patient.  

Bottom line I would never consider this company again.  It was unprofessional the way they kept jerking me around.  No other company I have worked for has behaved in such a manner when interviewing candidates.  Gestamp had no respect for me or my time and I was just a job candidate I can only imagine how poorly they must treat people who actually are employed there.

If you are looking to start a career in manufacturing you might want to try this out. As a temporary solution it is fine. Most entry level jobs have job security as long as they don’t but heads with their leads. There are training programs available to sign up for if your lead signs off on it so get along with your lead. 

That being said, management is a joke. No less than 4 plant managers, 4 Quality managers and DOZENS of assembly supervisors have come and gone in the last two years. HR tries to help but the, just like everyone else in this plant are completely overworked. Training is as minimum as possible. You will not find out if you are going to get a day off until the the last scheduled work day. 18 days straight is a regular thing. Press are sold at 120% capacity. You are trained to look for defects and once you report them you face opposition for all sorts of people that have differing opinions on what is passable or to the customer’s specifications. Holidays are regularly worked through. Pay is only slightly better than Target or Walmart. 

There will be a constant deluge of for managers that make empty promises about communication and work life balance. And six months to a year later someone new is promising the same things with a whole new plan. 

If you do end up excelling at an entry level position, expect to be held back because they cannot afford to replace you in the labor force. It happened to me. 

Typically you will work 8 hours and leads will look for volunteers to work over. Every week they need people to work over every day. If not enough volunteers apply everyone will have to work overtime. Press workers work the most. Assembly associates work almost the same. You will be lucky to get three days off a month. Finally if you do try to get an apprenticeship they make you sign a contract tiring you into a certain number of years equivalent to the years it takes to earn it. 

So a good place to jumpstart a career. If you are fresh out of school looking to make a good sum of money in a year. Go for it. Otherwise your kids will grow up without you. 

I did have a supervisor who did teach me things after I got hired in. I went to a new position.  I did however have poor training as well and had to learn a lot on my own.  Before and after I got hired in.  Before I got hired in I had very little training one day and than they expected me to train new people.  Back breaking work for little pay and hardly any days off. Management isn't the greatest.  The co-workers were friendly most of them other would stab you in back or yell at you.  Very stressed everyday.  I would come home dirty sore and tried until I got my new job.  Than I was taught to lie I cant believe all the bad quality and really I don't care attitude just run them parts hit them numbers. Them telling in meetings that they are on the list for several costumers as the worst company.  They are doing nothing to fix that.  Drama and you have to look out for yourself. The jobs are easy to do just don't pay good and management and certain supervisors don't treat you good.  Makes you feel low of yourself.  That give one person a huge loads of responsibilities everyday and at too much and get all your work done.  Than you get wrote up or yelled out.  Huge turnover all the time. They work you a lot with little time off so people start making mistakes.  Stressful place to work because your worried you didn't get your numbers out and get yelled at.

I thoroughly loved my position, and co-workers, however 
the  formidable culture is derived from consistent "lay-offs", both at "cell" level, to admin & supervisory rolls. In the last round, many "let go"  had been there more than 13 years! The continued culture is very unstable and disconnected with low moral, due to that lack of job security and those needed supporting rolls .
The "turn over", of course lends to the now uninterested, apathetic, work force. In their defense, they are provided with ineffective, effortless, training. Subsequently to the companies neglect and own divestment, there is also no cross training, and no contingent training.   
All the Plants are basically run from one overseas Main Plant, with the majority of all decisions coming from there.  This means that the Main Plant is very clueless to what actually goes on at any of the US locations, and makes every attempt to conform each plant to a "cookie cutter" version of itself, despite the facts of each locations having different Contracted customers, vendors, suppliers, and staffing needs. US  "top talent recruits" and management in place, have no real authority, input and are micromanaged.... to micromanage. It is very evident of their frustration with the under staffing and lack of support. 
If each location operated as its own entity, it would have had great potential and some of the most dedicated, driven, loyal and productive teams. 
If there are any good employee remaining, they are absolutely 
 overwhelmed,burnt out  and looking for a way out before its next "restructure".

they are not a very good company to work for, there is very little home life but a lot of work time, so if you like 8 hours on week days and 12 hours on weekends and working months on end with only 1 or 2 days off then this is the company for you, but if your a normal person that enjoys a home life then this is by far the worst place to go, the management is terrible and no matter what you do you don't advance anywhere unless you kiss bosses behinds or suck around on the management, you will be stuck at the bottom of the totem pole forever. If you are the unfortunate soul that lands in the hot stamping department, get ready for unbearable heat, a typical night in the plant is around 100* to 135* degrees with little airflow, unless you luck up and get close to a bay door that may or may not be open. If its open it might be in the mid 90s. There is a lot of favoritism that goes on there as well along with a cut throat staff that will look for any reason to terminate you but keep others that are low quality employees. you will also be led on about advancement but usually never do advance, you will also be lied to by management about your position and will be moved to a job that you will probably not like, without any warning nor any say in the matter and you will be shunned out, or out casted if you say that you don't like the position, that is why I quit and never intend to ever return

Gestamp Chattanooga is a complete and utter mess! 
When I joined the company I thought I was joining a state of the art auto manufacturer supplier. With top management, supplies, policies, culture, etc. Its everything but that. 
Management is very inexperienced and niave. People use this company as a stepping stone. 
This place has been HQ in Michigan and in Chattanooga since VW and still use old methods as far as record keeping, tracking, communication, etc. 
Work culture is the worst I've ever taken part of. Employees hate Management and its fair to say that most Management feels the same way. Can you blame hourly employees though, they work 6-7 days a week sometimes 30days straight. With not even a thankyou from upper/middle Management. 
I worked there roughly a year. And would not recommend it to any friends or family. It's a stepping stone company and nothing more. Just ask Management how long they've worked there. Most in the 0-2 year rage. 
It's a shame because this place has so much potential and seems to be a great company for all the foreign employees that come and complete task. 
There are some enjoyable moments but it's 1 step forward and 2 steps back with this place. Simple as that. 
Would avoid all Chattanooga plants if possible. 

If you like working 6 or 7 days a week, regardless of the shift you are working or how long it is, have at it. This place runs 24/7 and relies entirely on its robotics and automation equipment, so it follows that things will break down pretty regularly. Couple that with the fact that there is an INCREDIBLE amount of smoke, soot, and chemicals lingering in the air everywhere due to absolutely no care for ventilation or the health of the people working in this place; things will break down even more. 
Don’t slip up by being late or making mistakes, this company is on a huge cost-cutting campaign. HR will use any reason they can find to not increase your pay for 6 months to a year. Of course, when you work 8-12 hour shifts 7 days a week, you're bound to be human and maybe be a minute or two late once a month. Sorry bud, that's $.20 off of your raise. 
If you're placed in any sort of supervisor, engineering, or maintenance position, say goodbye to taking a break at any point in the day. Expect to get chewed out for taking a bathroom break. And do not expect ANY praise for putting this extra work in. 
All in all, if you're desperate for work like I was, you can definitely find plenty of it here. But there are nearby companies with similar work, where my former co-workers are much happier with their lives. 

The entire Management staff should be replaced. they spend too much time on things of none importance and trying to figure out ways to fire their best employees. Harassment cases against Supervisors from female employees are way above average and often not investigated.  There is no training method or support for new hires. HR works for Management and not the employees. There is no structure provided for advancement so only friends and family get promotions. The entire site is reactive instead of proactive when it comes to problem solving. production fails because quality is not held as important to the process. Instead of eradicating issues they take a gamble and often looses to VW which cost money. They will often blame the workers for the failures of poor management. You will spend most of your time reworking problems that you warned them about , but they ignored you. They will pay you for one job and have you work three and fire you if you don't. No one there is happy to be there. Some are afraid to leave but most use it as a springboard to get experience to go to other companies. Management will work you seven days a week twelve hours a day and will come in Monday morning upset with you because your tired. The employees are tired and down beaten but nice.

This is a poorly managed company. Due to lack of quality management, a great deal of overtime of forced on employees - often with last minute and without option.  Morale is deplorable and accolades or gratitude are sparse from upper management.

The upside to this chaos is that an inexperienced, unqualified individual may advance into positions which would otherwise require education and training elsewhere.

Overtime can be expected nearly every day and days off are very few.  Days off that have been planned or promised are often cancelled last minute due to poor scheduling. There is zero regard for those employees at the lowest level - for their families or their home life.

Any person who moves past the entry level positions, i.e. team leader or supervisor - literally does not get a day off for having to answer emails, phone calls, compile extracurricular projects, etc.

It is a good company, but they need to take better care of their employees and be more considerate.  They tell you that they work from 5 to 6 days but when you start they put you to work 7 days for 5 to 6 months.  You ask for days off and they give you a point and it is a problem to take days off.  To give you a raise or promotions it is up to the supervisor and HR.  Sometimes they do things quickly but sometimes the supervisor doesn't want to help you and you get stuck in a position and salary.  If you do what they ask you, like staying overtime without complaining and never missing, they help you but if you have a personal life and you need time, they start to screw you up.  Sometimes you feel a little threatened because for any little detail they want to give you a worning or score.  You do 20 things well and they don't even thank you but you only do 1 little thing wrong and they already want to give you a letter (worning), the administration should be more aware of its employees and supervisors treat their employees better.  If any of this changed I would change my reviews

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Maintenance technician 15 salaries reported	$30.55 per hour
Quality technician 4 salaries reported	$18.88 per hour
Tool maker 28 salaries reported	$31.50 per hour
Production associate 3 salaries reported	$18.50 per hour
Tool and die maker 10 salaries reported	$37.81 per hour

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