laborer

brand manager

maintenance technician

machine operator

finance manager

Kraft Heinz

Entry level work there has great pay and benefits, and if a position opens up somewhere else and you want to go there, they'll promote you if you are a good fit for it. That's basically where the good stops, though.

I started as a machine operator filling boxes with condiment packets. It was a great job at first. Stand there doing basically one easy task the whole shift. Don't have to deal with anyone, and no customers. Do your job and go home.

But then the machines started breaking down, and it was my responsibility to fix them. If it was one of the very few things I wasn't trained to fix, a higher up engineer would come to fix it. That didn't happen often. And despite writing down what happened on the log like you're supposed to, not filling boxes with product counts against you and your production goal. If you don't meet those goals, you get written up and eventually fired.

Of the 13 or 14 machines used for that particular job, only one was new when I started, and even it broke down from time to time. The fact that a billion dollar company can't afford to give their employees all new machines is sad. Those machines run 24/7, so breaking down will happen. But to blame the worker for the machine being ancient and not working regularly is a joke. One night in particular, the machine I was on broke down every 5 minutes, no exaggeration. Sometimes it would take 10 minutes to fix, sometimes an hour. But after starting it up again, 5 minutes later it would break. I think the longest it stayed running that night was 8 minutes. I successfully filled like 10 boxes of product that night, and they considered that MY fault. I was supposed to fill roughly 90 to 100 boxes an hour.

Every employee I talked to on breaks hated working there, but stayed for whatever reason.

During training they don't tell you everything. I found out a bunch of stuff about the job and company policy that was very problematic after learning it, and probably would've kept me from working there had I known before applying. The guy who trained me was really cool and a pleasure to work with. But during the month he was training me is when he hit his 90 day probation period. That's when I found out they started having him train people a month after he started. As soon as he was done training he started training others. He had trained someone else before me. I then found out shortly after his probation period was over that he wasn't given the raise we were all promised after probation, because he didn't meet his daily quota of boxes produced once, because of the machine breaking down all night.

You might get a uniform, you might not. Depends on how long you work there I guess, I don't know. I was there for 4 months and never got mine, but they'll tell you that you'll get them in 5 weeks. I had to wear my clothes to work and ruined many of them because of it.

You're supposed to get a list of all of the supplies they'll provide you and all of the supplies you have to get for yourself, out of your own pocket. I had to ask time and time again to get that list until eventually the guy training me just gave me his.

No lunch breaks, two 15 minute breaks per 8 hour shift. If you want to smoke, eat, use the bathroom, whatever, get it in in 15 minutes. On more than one occasion I would grab a small bag of peanuts from their snack bar in the break room (another very nice perk actually) and a bottle of pop and I would sit outside in the smoke area and smoke, eat, and drink all at the same time just so I could also use the bathroom before going back to work. The breaks are supposed to happen 2 hours after you start and then 4 hours later. A couple of times I wouldn't get my first break until 4 or 5 hours after I started, and one time I didn't get my first break until after hour 7 I asked someone if I was going to get a break that night and they told me they "forgot" about me.

You have to fill out a ton of paperwork all night long while running your machine. Sometimes you'd have to use a calculator to figure out numbers needed for the log. Good luck doing that while the machine is running. Every hour you also have to weigh the packets to make sure the right amount of product is going in them, or the machine has to be adjusted. That's hard to do while the machine is running. Not only do you have to weigh the packets, but you have to write their weights down in your log papers.

One thing good I will say about the floor supervisors. If you needed help with anything, they would almost always help. They were, as far as I know, all promoted to that position from the one I was working, so they understood the job and issues. But that doesn't mean they always helped, and sometimes getting help meant waiting quite a while to get it.

Every now and then (daily) I'd run out of things I needed for my station, like certain tapes for the machine. It was my job to go get them, and I had to walk all over the factory to get those, as they were not readily available at each station. Telling floor supervisors that you needed those things wouldn't guarantee you'd get them or they'd tell you to get them yourself. You could wait for one of your two breaks to do it then, and miss out on your break, or, most likely, you'd have to shut your machine off to do it and not produce.

When you're eligible for OT, it's mandatory. The nice thing about it is, you can usually pick what days, and, if you want to do your four hours before or after your regular shift. OT was supposed to only be 4 hours each time, but I talked to many there who were regularly made to work much more than that per shift.

I worked third shift and every now and then needed to talk to HR for whatever reason. I almost never saw them, ever. They were supposed to be in the office at 7 in the morning but regularly were not, and there was supposed to be someone there until 11 or 12 at night one night a week for third shift people to talk to. That almost never happened either, or there would be a line so long waiting to be seen by the one person there that it was impossible to see them before shift start. They would tell us to email them, but they almost never responded.

As far as making you feel like you belong or you are necessary, they do not. At all. They KNOW how terrible that job is and they know it's a revolving door. It's the worst job in the place, as told to me by so many other employees who worked in other parts of the factory. When I decided to quit, not one person wanted to talk to me about it or tried to keep me from going. It was basically "okay, bye."

- The 3G Management Style is incredibly daunting, austere, merciless, and unforgiving.  If you want an accurate picture, there is a Fortune article from 2015 that depicts it quite well- Google it.  It's a shame that a philanthropic leader like Warren Buffet, who is committed to donating 99% of his lifetime wealth to charity, overlooks the people within his own investments that could use a kind gesture.  It's the employees of KraftHeinz, those that have been lifetime employees in a once family owned company and have built the success of the business, that deserve more.  Many reviews on Glassdoor and Indeed depict this-- they trusted and loved working for Kraft or Heinz, they felt like they were valued and made a valuable contribution, but then 3G acquired Heinz, and the Kraft merged with Heinz.  All they're met with now is reduction in benefits, slashes to labor, run down facilities, no more freebies, morale at an all-time low, and no investment in their development.

- Zero based budgeting is a friendly term for how KraftHeinz views budgets.  In a true ZBB environment, those that are able to aptly justify spend, typically receive at least a portion of their budget request because the business trusts and empowers leaders to make the best decision for the company.  In the KraftHeinz model, budgets that are justified are slashed, reviewed behind closed doors, and then slashed again without any input from the budget owner.  At the end of budget season, you'll get a budget number with absolutely zero input or feedback on how leadership got there and you are told that you are a failure if you can't figure out how to run a company without resources.  

- Decisions are truly based on cost without any thought of the impact to people.  People here aren't valuable resources, they're a cost and a burden that can be replaced.  There is no investment in training, engagement, or development.  If your site has a workforce that is struggling, they are told to pick up the pace or be put to pasture.  If you have old and failing equipment in a crumbling 40 year old facility, you are told to become more efficient without capital investment or your site may be closed.

- Employees are worked to the bone and bled dry.  Those that commit to the culture and the process and stick around will, if they're lucky, be rewarded with a severance package during one of the "efficiency cuts."  Seniority and tenure are not respected, as the culture sees "new, green, and bright talent" through the trainee program as the key to success (many of the 3G leaders are products of legacy trainee programs).  Many of these tenured people are the workhorses behind the business- they're not employees hanging out based on entitlement, yet they are forced out, to be replaced by a recent college grad who has no knowledge, training, or exposure to the business. Those that are left after the efficiency cuts frequently pick up more and more responsibility until they drown. 

- The "owners only" mindset is a fallacy.  The company seeks "owners" who are driven, motivated, hungry, and manage the company's money & resources as if it were their own, but turn around and prescribe hundreds of playbook standards, metrics, and rules that dictate how & when everything must be done.  There is no decision making, trust, or ownership here; just a clear prescription on how someone in corporate thinks that you should "own" your function.  Making smart budgetary decisions and limiting spending is just good leadership and does not lend to an "owners only" culture.  True owners are trusted and empowered to make the best decisions and attain the appropriate resources to support their business. True owners are not continually asked to prove their work by submitting evidence-- owners complete their work and deliver results, without being asked to take a picture of their work as documentation of completion.

- "Leadership" in the KraftHeinz world often means intimidation and inciting fear.   There's no opportunity for dialogue, two way conversation, or feedback- there's a forced mandate that should be met with a nod. 

Bottom line:  If you are seeking a company that values people, empowers their workforce, invests in your future, and sees the value in investing in quality then KraftHeinz may not be for you.  Many people will read this review and think that it's written by someone who wasn't motivated, performed poorly, was exited out of the business, sees the corporate world through rosy colored glasses, and/or just doesn't understand business strategy.  In that case, I implore you to network with others who are current or former KraftHeinz employees.  I guarantee you'll get similar feedback and may be cautioned to continue your career search elsewhere.

A typical day at work would be to come in with my proper Personal Protective Equipment, wash your hands, and proceed to the 6th floor control room where my area as a 3rd shift Bran Finishing Operator was. During this time, I would discuss issues with the previous shift operator about their production day. It was very important to get in contact with other members of the Bran Team and discuss problems we currently had in our prior shifts because once one problem occurred, its was highly likely another was to follow. After inputting my data for the start of the shift, which recorded time, speed, and temperatures, i would continue to the 5th floor where I would collect my weight, moisture, sugar, size, and color sample. During that time I would contact the Cook Room Operator who was responsible at making a pre-flake which was called a grit. The Cook Room Operator would discuss problems they had so that I was informed. Problems usually included: metal to metal contact, low heat problems, high moisture, high sugars, equipment failure, equipment damage, and usually any concerns based on sight, sound, and hearing. After I had provided a constant production flow, I continued my decent to the other floors where i was responsible for "coating." Coating was the process of adding liquid sugar, vitamins, flavor, and water through atomizers inside of a wheel to coat the flakes. After collecting my samples, I would continue on to the 3rd floor to check on our Finished Food bin to make sure everything was operating smoothly.  On the 2nd floor, was an area for the bran team which involved a mill and sifters (which we called a sifter mill). The sets of sifter mills, were responsible of cutting up large pieces of pre-flakes (grits) and recirculating them back into the process. We have had many plug ups in this area and is the hardest area in the process to clean after production ends. The equipment weighed between 50-100 pounds...and sometimes even more if food is stuck inside. It was nice to have other co-workers there during our end of the run clean up nights. 

My most enjoyable part of the job was laughing with my co-workers. Just trying to figure out where a bolt came, or helping another operator because he is making a mess somewhere. It's always good to laugh and learn. 

All of management knew we worked hard and would reward us with going home early, or sometimes buying us lunch or something. Everyone got along respectively well with one another. They were great i'll miss them all.

I would only consider this job if I was a young kid wanting to move up fast and not wanting to ever have a family. This company treats their employees like trash. The management will change a schedule several times a week. A hourly employee never knows when they are working or not as they say they are running to numbers and the numbers are often change during the week,so if you think you may make the number they will add more. The company don't wanna do any maintenance on the machines, so they are always breaking down causing the employees not to reach the numbers and the management blames the hourly employees for everything so if the employees don't make their numbers they punish them by working Saturdays and Sundays notifying them on a Friday so they can never make any plans with their family.This facility has a mandatory overtime calendar that the employees are forced to sign up to work 4 12 hour days on top of working Monday through Sunday schedule 6 to 7 days a week depending on the numbers. The management took the employees sick time and their personal days putting them on a point system where the employee gets written up if they use over two days in a year firing them on every three write ups these write ups can remain on the employees record for up to three years if they last that long  forcing them to come in sick making everyone else sick. The hourly employees are running very short staff as the management treat the people like dirt and a lot of employees don't want to work there anymore. The mandatory calendar is used to cover employees for everything management can make up from employees out sick, family medical leave, jury duty,getting fired quitting their jobs, when employees get trained and even for a whole system that is ran entirely by employees being forced to sign up on the overtime calendar the last year most employees have averaged about 65 hours plus a week.If the employees are lucky and might get a weekend off they still have to be signed on the calendar to work so they can't really even enjoy it and can't make plans with family and friends unless they schedule vacation time which makes it almost impossible to get off as the employees have to plan their vacation time a year ahead of time before January and only lets one employee on a crew in each occupation off at a time. It is said that the employees work this hard and last year they plant made more money then they ever did they took their sick time and even never gave them their yearly (bonus).

Pros:
If you are a person without any self respect, are able to deal with many issues and not raise complaints no matter who or what is affected and are able to produce something from nothing, then this company is just for you. Union holds back the cutting to some extent

Cons:
Seriously though, if you are a mechanic or anything of the sort, run away from this company if you can. The culture of cutting cutting cutting has affected production, morale and overall job security. You will be told not to do critical P.M.'s for an entire year because it costs too much money. Then you will be asked why production lines aren't running well. Then you will get threatened to be written up for not doing nuisance P.M.'s. You will have to fight to get any and all training. Even if it is OSHA mandated. If you, a lowly hourly, dare to tell a manager they have to provide specific training or equipment, they will purposely drag their feet for months or years to provide it. If you ask for a raise, they will stall for months to give you a performance review. Again, because you are a lowly hourly, who dares to question a Kraft Heinz manager. You will spend most days either fixing the same issue over and over again, or simply calling contractors to do the work that you should be trained to do. The ammonia and steam system is slowly falling apart. You will not be allowed to work on it, especially if it requires overtime. You will, instead, spend your days getting three quotes from contractors for every job. 99% of those jobs will never get done, due to all the cutting. The contractors you want to use will no longer do business with the company due to the fact that they only pay their bills after 150 days. If you do, at the end of the day, manage to actually get something done, whichever senior manager approved the work will take credit for it. The managers are not people oriented. They are career oriented. No matter what your position is, you will be shown an amount of respect somewhere between a slave and a bond servant. This is one of the worst companies you can come to and be a mechanic or stationary engineer or just an employee. This is where careers come to die. This is where hope is lost and dreams fade to dust.

•	Applied culinary creativity, technical expertise and consumer research to support the launch of the following Heinz products; Heinz Light Mayonnaise, Heinz Breakfast Condiments, Chamula Hot Sauce, Smart Ones All Natural Breakfast Syrup, Heinz Miniatures Line Extension resulting in 3MM in revenue growth
•	Led pipeline innovation driving growth through brainstorming & innovation sessions for Heinz foodservice, Heinz portion control, Heinz branded condiments and sauces, for our top 10 national accounts such as Burger King, Sonic, White Castle, & Taco Bell
•	Applied scientific and culinary knowledge, product development expertise, manufacturing technology, product quality criteria, and processing innovation to develop 2 licensed all natural HPC product platforms which included 5 Welch’s All Natural Premium Jams and a line of 5 Brianna’s All Natural Salad Dressings. 
•	Contributor to product quality improvements & cost reduction initiatives based on customer needs and marketing initiatives for all Heinz portion control items, bulk condiments and sauces resulting in 2MM in savings.
•	Participant in the Heinz Culinary Council which  provides culinary expertise to R&D peers, as well as deliver product concepts, recipes to drive incremental growth across Heinz Consumer Products & Foodservice businesses;  including TGIF Meals & Snacks, Smart Ones, Classico, Soups, Condiments & Sauces
•	Demonstrated technical, sensory, ingredient and product knowledge to customers, corporate chefs, sales team, at internal Heinz sales demonstrations, training sessions, strategic food shows and with company executives
•	Delivered over 20 internal presentations to the entire Heinz R&D community on functional ingredients and ingredient trends by leveraging the resources of key vendor partners resulting in over 20 new pipeline ideas.
•	Championed the Heinz North America Power of You Program, a reward and recognition initiative developed to engage and empower all U.S based employees. 7% of employees per week in various functions were recognized in the first 9 months, exceeding our goal of  3%.
•	Supported sales and marketing on point of sale materials, photo shoots and layout on over 20 product launches.

The dimensions of the job that I most enjoyed were:

1) Driving Results

I am very competitive and want my team to win. Hitting revenue targets, winning at the shelf, seeing colleagues execute using tools I helped them develop, and helping a customer meet a need all drive my passion to win. Nothing breeds success like success!

2) Leadership and Coaching

I have been blessed to have been associated with great leaders from which I have developed my leadership abilities during my career. They all have different styles and methods, but the key ingredients have been their ability to connect with and inspire people to accomplish great deeds as well as make the tough call. My style is to make the connection to gain trust, coach/ reinforce skills, encourage good business behaviors, lead by example, and having my team’s back in tough times. I firmly believe that people who drive to win are the difference makers. Great leadership allows the difference makers to win and lets them do it.

3) Consultative Selling/Thought Leadership

My biggest successes have been from bringing innovative and proven best-in-class learnings to customers in the areas of consumer behavior, new merchandising techniques, and defining why a product/service has value to them. In today’s world, organizations have a wealth of information from which to make decisions. A true customer partner provides the insights to help customers sift through data, determine which information is most helpful, then fills in the knowledge blanks. This area is one of my favorite aspects of selling.

4) Specialties:Creative Merchandising

Merchandising fulfills my right brain’s creative needs. I am all about enhancing the consumer experience and take-away by building a better display vehicle, bundling, getting the shelf right, and leveraging attractive pricing. I have been very fortunate in my career to have some of the best mentors in the business to help me hone these skills.

Typical day at work would include interactions with customers via telephone, working closely with sales and warehouse teams to ensure product arrival with correct pricing according to sales deals and promotions.  Some clerical and customer service related tasks were also performed but overall the job dealt with getting product to the customer in time for ads as well as working with the warehouse to ensure product was distributed within code dates.  Worked on several teams while employed with Kraft including managing OM hotdog business and handling overstock waste reduction attempts while working with other supply chain managers to build efficiencies.  As a CPG company, Kraft relied on CSCs to ensure adherence by the customer to related efficiency programs to manage pricing based on volume ordered.

I worked for Kraft for 4.5 years and really got to know the upper management very well.  I was given the opportunity to move to several laterally equal positions before afforded the opportunities for advancement.  This enabled me to learn more about operations, sales and the manufacturing side of the business.  Overall a good experience but could have been supplemented with better opportunities for advancement in general.  Left Kraft on my own accord and at time of separation, Sr. Management stated they would would consider me again for a position there for future employment upon my request.

Hardest part of the job would include the hours worked.  Often times a customer would not be able to be handled within the 9-5 time frame and sometimes projects would run over often times to excess; if the work was not completed, work from home was common.

The most enjoyable part of the job was working with good people and completing goals to drive success towards our initiatives.  Kraft is good about compensating their employees and making sure they are happy with regard to salaries and bonuses at year end.

Do not expect to be onboarded for your role. You will be put out to sink or swim immediately. Expect “coaching” instead of management. Do not be distracted by management/coworkers causal tone, as they are considerably “open”, and expect high bright energy, and for you to be an open book. They will set expectations as “suggestions”. Coworkers will gossip about you to their managers. No investigation into if their complaints are warranted.

Heavily consider if you already have the skills to succeed here, as you will need to give +3 years of 200% effort to be recognized for a promotion. Multiple members of the team took many years to get “deserved” promotions for work they were already doing. This doesn’t allow them any time to share knowledge or train others. In fact, they are too busy working at 200% for their own promotion to ever consider helping another team member.

Constant reorganizations. Bonus pay outs are low, and the company is doing poorly. The entire company has a frat/sorority like culture. Assimilate or be rejected. Your manager is fake, and passive aggressive.

You might notice some team members get to come and go when they please during the work day. Some may never be on camera. Do not follow, even if they say their boss does not mind. They will tell you it is because they have a long commute or they are sick. They have those perks because management is terrified of losing them, and they won’t feel the same for you. You will not be treated equally as other team members.

I really don’t recommend working here. The hours are long and the demand is constant when your impact is tiny/easily reversed. If you’re unlucky enough to get a manager in consumer experience that also reports into the consumer experience lead, then expect to appease two bosses that have zero interest in devolving your skills. Hopefully you have other options to consider.

Arrive on site park your vehicle and walk to the building (btwn 1/4 to 1 city block); use your security badge to enter and go to the locker room; lock your belongings in your locker; don your PPE and wash your hands; walk 1/2 block to time clock; verify your work location in the plant; THEN clock in; Arrive at your station assemble your tools and paperwork; verify adequate supplies; begin your tasks. 3-4 hrs later go on short break, (eat quickly use the restroom drink fluids) then back to work. Deal with any issues that arise; 4hrs later go on break, (eat quickly use the restroom drink fluids) and return to your station. Continue working until your 12 hr shift is complete; clock out; retrieve your belongings from your locker after putting your PPE in your locker. If you need to speak to your supervisor this is the time. Finally leave the building walk to your vehicle and exit the property. I learned that you MUST keep a physical record of all communications with any one you deal with. Because, what you are told by one supervisor; is not always what truly happens. For the most part, it was a job. Most of my coworkers were good, language barrier; but if you are smart then it is livable. The most difficult part was the lack of training. But like I said, it was a job and some things are to be expected. There were ppl who could make your life unpleasant when you stood up for yourself but I think that is in every industry. The best part was that you rotated stations so you didn't get bored. You definitely worked for your pay and if you look at the big picture; you made an impact on the end consumers lives and that knowledge gave me great satisfaction and happiness. It is not a job for everyone; but if you work hard, learn fast, are physically fit, do what you are told, stay in your own lane, follow orders...give it a try. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Laborer 4 salaries reported	$21.06 per hour
Brand manager 22 salaries reported	$128,245 per year
Maintenance technician 9 salaries reported	$32.31 per hour
Machine operator 7 salaries reported	$25.62 per hour
Finance manager 17 salaries reported	$124,332 per year

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