machine operator

operator

welder

material handler

seasonal warehouse associate

Tenneco

I worked at Tenneco for just over two years, and this would not be a bad place to work if they would get their act together and get decent management.

Let's start off with the good. The hours are not bad, and they offer several paid holidays off plus paid vacation. The pay is good. 

Now for the bad, they will hire anyone in management and even though they are bad at their position they still somehow manage to get promoted and some do not care about employees at all, and a few seem to enjoy when employees are miserable or upset/angry over something, they will even go out of their way to make employees feel like this. Thier is actually one person in management who will try and pin employees against one another and of course like many places management has favorites who can get away with anything, they can tell you that you need to come in on a Saturday but you can't for a legitimate reason such as an appointment or nobody to watch your children and they will give you a point while if one of their favorites are told to come in on a Saturday and they say they aren't doing it just because they don't want to they say okay that's fine and find someone else.  On a 10 hour shift you will only get two short breaks and on an eight-hour shift which is actually your normal shift unless working overtime you only get one break and that is actually taken just two hours before you get off, so you have to go 6 hours without a break and this place does not have A/C so during the warmer months it gets pretty hot. 

Some areas you will not be told until the morning of and sometimes even a few hours into your shift if you are working overtime that day and if you have to work that weekend, they sometimes won't tell you until Thursday, another issue is you will come in on the weekend for overtime just to stand around with nothing to do.  Some supervisors hold every little thing against you like having to leave just 20 minutes early to go to a doctor's appointment they give you a half of a point.

Many employees do not want to be bothered training new employees, in a way I kind of understand this because they have such a big turnover, and it is rather annoying when you constantly train people who just quit a few days later. 

Expect to work a lot of overtime especially during the warmer months, this includes both Saturday and Sunday making you work the entire week, depending on your department five of those days may turn into 12-hour shifts at times. 

My advice is getting new management, pretty much the entire management needs to be swept through and replaced. Give two breaks on an eight-hour shift and three on a ten-hour shift or make the breaks longer, also move the one break on eight to an earlier time.  Figure out a way to cut out all the overtime, this absolutely can be done, it is just a mixture of management not knowing what they are doing and Tenneco themselves taking on too many orders.

Tenneco falls under one of those companies that will work you to death, you will spend more time here then at home. Honestly, this job is not for someone who wants to have a life or has a family because with this job you can't have much of a life and will not have much time to spend with your family.  

A big plus is it takes a lot to get fired, usually the only thing that gets you fired is points for being late or missing time but even then, although your only allowed I believe six some people have as many as ten.   


The Athens location has processes that SHOULD make this a World Class Manufacturing plant.  They just DONT.  
There is absolutely no support from management.  Besides the fact that upper management is a revolving door, no one listens.  This location has spent serious money to get great talent,  and then the talent is thrown to the abyss to try to figure out how favoritism impacts the job and who the golden child(ren) is/are.  Management gives great speeches like "whatever you need,  just let me know".  That sounds good, but in reality, the truth is that you are expect to hit the ground running and know everything you need to know about the production floor, processes and where to find your own training.  If I had a dollar for every time I have been told "you can find that in CPRO", I wouldn't need a pay check.  
1 - What is CPRO 
2 - Where do I find it
3 - How many times will an employee have to ask for access
Ridiculous audits have been put in place only to be pencil whipped.  Training on how to conduct an audit, or anything else, is a not even a second thought.  You would think that getting on boarding training or any other kind of training was a burden and that someone was going to lose a limb if they have to train someone.  
The departments are silo'd so badly that Value Stream Managers are not on the same page, they don't speak to each other many times. Meetings are schedule at last minute and then the manager who schedules the meeting disappears, as if the conversation didn't happen.  Supervisors and managers have fights, nearly coming to fisticuffs in meetings.  THIS IS INSANE!
The hardest part of the job is the fact that there is no guidance.  Equipment, which is older than the plant itself, has not been maintained and no one has any idea of when the last time it might have been PM'd.  The equipment has been zip tied, glued and rubber banded together, with the expectation to create a perfect product.  When questions are asked "why isn't this working", the place lights up like the scare crow in the Wizard of Oz.  He did it - no  - she did it - wait - nope it was you know who's fault.  Who's in charge?  
If you have 3 shifts, there should be management to support 3 shift.  Not at this place.  
Oil and grease leak from the machines like Niagara Falls.  Not an exaggeration!  You will see piles of dirty rags under machines and buckets of oil sitting on the floor.  But when the machine is to start producing, the mechanics have to try to find parts to get the machine running because it's guts have been stripped.  This is a culture here.  Half assed and no sense of urgency to keep the machines maintained and running. 
NOTE:  Management - Just listen.  Un-silo your plant and get everyone moving in the same direction.  Hold each other accountable.  There is no accountability to the individuals who are making decisions.  

Disorganized, poor management, poor communication, favoritism, and terrible equipment. Those issues are just scratching the surface of what it's like working here. 
The plant doesn't seem to have a clear aim or direction and management is a revolving door. I have been there for only 1.5 years, and we have gone through two plant managers and two interim plant managers. We are now on plant manager number five. Each one has a different vision on how they want the plant to operate, meaning that the way of doing things changes regularly. The same can be said for the value stream managers and supervisory team. 
Supervisors and the management team have no idea how the machines operate but expect the highest quality output. If you don't hit your turns/hr, that's a write-up. Oh, also, if you hit your turns per hour but have a lot of bad parts, that's also a write-up. The machines are old and often malfunction, but you can't seem to get that through their skulls. 
They want us to function as one team instead of individual shifts, but there is no communication between the shifts leading to missed shipments and expedites because change-overs don't happen in a timely manner. Then, the shifts get frustrated with one another due to these poor communication issues as we end up in a constant revolution of "cleaning up" after the other shifts. 
Then, favoritism. This is likely due to availability of support staff. First shift has the most staff readily available from operators all the way up to engineers, HR reps, nurse, etc. They also have shift adjustment where they can come in early and go home early. Other shifts are not granted such luxury. But when stuff gets done, it seems like first shift always gets the credit. 
The overtime is also brutal. If you like to work your life away and don't have family outside of work, there's nothing wrong with it. But if you want to have any form of a social life, good luck. The worst of it is that it's mostly mandatory overtime. So, seven days a week, and you usually don't find out the overtime schedule until two days before. Then, they'll change it twenty-four hours before at times. Basically, never make plans, and never trust the holiday schedule. I feel like I have missed out on so much because of the fact that we haven't had much of an off day since the snow storm back in January. 

Been working there since 2010 and it's been a whirlwind the whole time.  They have little or no respect for the working floor laborers. Management and team leaders are so clueless its ridiculous because they are "supposed to have college educations". It's like modern day slavery.  You work sun up to sun down literally. HR,  management, team leader, and employees have a HIGH turnover rate, but nobody cares. HR also does NOT keep personal situations confidential.  Nothing is secret that happens to you...Management will walk right by you and not speak or even smile. Pay is pretty good and you can make a nice check cause overtime is mandatory every week.  Even when they say that they are giving you a weekend off it's usually a lie... (Management are nothing, but a bunch of liers). Salary workers walk around like they are gods gift to the world with no consideration for the people who are actually on machine doing the work so everyone can be paid. They also make up jobs in order for the "favorites" to have it easy,  but then say that the plants broke.  In order to move up you gotta know someone or kiss a** all day. Floor workers are okay,  but because of the excessive hours people can get cranky. Telling HR anything or having them handle things either gets messed up or not done.  It's best to call corporate cause once you bring up an issue management targets you as a problem... 

**Best advice**  is to come to work and prepare to be a robot.  Cause being human and having feelings,  wants, or needs is the last thing they wanna hear or care about.

I've worked here on two separate occasions adding up to over ten years of experience.  It was once a great company but has been recently sold. Management was gutted, and most people in supervisory positions are still relatively new. Above supervisors is a team of people who are clueless. Either they care and can't do anything, or they can do something but don't care. There is a lot of double talk when it comes to safety. They don't want to see you doing anything unsafe, but fully expect you to break safety rules to hit numbers when they aren't looking.  Their training program isn't a program. They will typically have some train you who doesn't care if you are learning, because when training is done, you are moved to another shift (nobody starts on first). So, the trainers don't have the incentive to ensure your success. Most of the coworkers are great. they range from super friendly to minding their own business. The company is big enough that you'll eventually find a bad apple. Communication is devastatingly terrible. Have a question? ask your supervisor. They'll gladly tell you they don't have an answer for you and walk away. Want to get ahold of HR or any other department? Good luck. You have to be careful when calling HR. non-HR people frequently answer the phone. then the real HR calls you back an hour or a week later. Overtime can either be brutal or dry for months on end. I've known welders who had to work 7-12's for 6 months with the only days off are vacation days. They recently lost their quality badge but are supposedly getting it back soon. In the meantime, no new business is expected. Just more permanent layoffs. If you find yourself still interested in working here, then I recommend you keep your head down. Don't get too friendly with anyone. Don't point out any problems. Don't do better than the worker before you or next to you. 

At Tenneco, I was a technician, I had many great individuals I developed a working and personal relationship with.  I still keep in contact with those individuals and seek advice and guidance from.  The issue I had with Tenneco was the lack of advancement opportunities and the uncertainty of it's financial future.  I am an ambitious person who works hard to try to move up, however, I was never given any clear direction to advance, despite numerous attempts.  I even spoke with HR about and they said, that information has to come from your supervisor.  I spoke to him and he said, I will have to speak with the Chief Engineer about the requirements.  I waited a month, then approached the Chief Engineer, and he said, I will have to set up a game plan with my supervisor.  Nothing ever came out of it.

Financially, Tenneco was doing great in clean air (exhaust), but required capital to update equipment at two of the plants in North America.  I asked the Director of Engineering in one of the departmental meetings about following the business plan of the profitable plant in Canada, and he said, it is not the same as the other plants.  I asked, do they make something other than shocks and struts?  I was completely ignored and placed on his list.  I saw the writing on the wall and left as soon as possible.  I wrote a letter to the Head Person of North America, and that fell on deaf ears.  

There are many fine people who work at Tenneco, who have had the same complaints.  I just hope they are able to find a new job that makes them as happy as I am at my current place of employment.

When I was interviewed, I told them that one of the things that attracted me to the job was the 4 day, 3 day rotation that they advertise. That was the time for them to come clean but they didn't. They didn't say a word about mandatory overtime, in orientation didn't hear about mandatory overtime. It was only after I started training that I heard about the mandatory overtime! The training was horrible. There needs to be a dedicated trainer so everyone gets the same information. I think the company has started doing training a little different now than they did in December 2022 when I started. Upper management seems to care only about you getting numbers. The equipment is old and we never seem to have even the simplest parts in stock for the advanced techs to fix our equipment. We fight the machines all night. The benefits are great, the pay is good but upper management not so much. Some in upper management seem to hate anybody questioning them. There is no work life balance at this company. We work 12 hour shifts and now we were told we have to work 5 days a week til God knows when. When you go to overtime shift, they don't need you yet upper management makes you work mandatory overtime nonetheless. You can't roll over vacation time or PTO. They take their time getting your pay raises and bonuses. They tell you that you will get raise when you been there 90 days but I been there 5 months and am yet to get a raise.

The below are my Opinions and experiences and not reflective of any other employee of the company.

Mandatory overtime has been unending since day 1. 6 day workweeks are normal and regularly mandating overtime to fill positions on a "Just in case" basis is normal. Work/life balance is non-existent except for the privileged few. Being kept on overtime when there is no work or a non operable machine has been common.

Nepotism runs rampant through the management.

"Company Policy" is more often used to bully and threaten than to actually create a fair work environment with clear rules and regulations as the company right to "change policy at anytime for any reason" is regularly used.

Employee turnover is extremely high.

Despite rising inflation and insurance costs 0% raises have been given to those that have been there long enough to have had additional training to increase their wage above the base. 0% raises are expected for several more years. Benefits have also been regularly cut entirely.

Upper management is regularly replaced. During my time here there have been 6 different company president/managers. This brings constant change to the facility and many abandoned projects.

Safety measures are only put into place after an injury occurs and only if the cost to the company is minimal. 

The best thing are the people on the floor. Most are good friendly people just trying to make a living.

When I first began at Tenneco (formally Federal Mogul), I was excited. I went in head strong thinking I could finally make something of myself. It took about two years for me to understand the mentality of the company. I am the top producer on my machine, but I can not award that to the company. I run the way I do because of my attitude and willingness to do my best. However, I have sense backed off dramatically for several reasons. Since my start date, my department has replaced three supervisors, all of which there was no public posting for. It was decided behind closed doors who would get the spot, which did not include one single plant floor employee. Secondly, sharing ideas will likely end up to the credit of someone else, either the supervisor or higher. Thirdly, the standards for each shift is vastly different. If you want to just have a job and collect a paycheck, 2nd or 3rd will be your ideal shift. 1st is pushed the hardest and produces more material. Benefits are absolutely terrible, most employees refer to the health insurance as ‘cut-throat insurance’. The union is nothing more than a company union; the sole purpose to do business with companies that require a union is in place. The union has no will to fight for the employees or better the benefits, pay, raises, etc. The company has the potential to be a great place of employment, but lack of communication, lack of morale, and lack of knowledge greatly limits the entire plant. 

Tenneco Automotive - Walker in Seward Nebraska is a great place to work. If you can handle working in an manufacturing environment and you live in the area, this is a fantastic place.

From a pay perspective its above market average with great benefits. When you first start working there you have no vacation time during your "recruiting phase", however there are 14 scheduled payed vacation days during the year, you get this time off, but its at a set date on the calendar. The longer you work there the more unscheduled vacation you get.

For me the work environment was great, especially once i got promoted into the office. Most of the people i worked with where very helpful and knowledgeable about the area they where in charge of. Most delays i encountered with projects had to do with the corporate paperwork side of spending requests , not the employee working on the project slacking off. 

The only downside about this facility was my job was eliminated. No more internal Designers / Draftsman due to a corporate decision in favor of outsourcing which is about 3 times more expensive per hour minimum and at the time i was always busy. I did a lot of long term cost savings projects, but i think corporate is only thinking short term at the moment. Hopefully that mindset changes. 

All and all i really liked working at the Seward, NE facility, If they have a job opening that fits your skill set, i recommend  applying for it.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Machine operator 14 salaries reported	$21.23 per hour
Operator 3 salaries reported	$21.02 per hour
Welder 15 salaries reported	$27.81 per hour
Material handler 8 salaries reported	$19.52 per hour
Seasonal warehouse associate 2 salaries reported	$20.20 per hour

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