Adobe reviews

Long hours, tight deadlines, ever decreasing workforce and offshoring of projects. The management, with the acquisition of Macromedia a few years ago, has become obsessed with Flash, AIR, and enterprise software. Unfortunately, this is leaving a lot of brilliant engineers who have worked long and hard at making Adobe what it is with Photoshop, Illustrator, et al, feeling frustrated and left behind. On top of this Adobe has laid off an enormous number of people from these key areas in the last couple years and shuffled portions to India and now China. If you are a US employee it is difficult not to have the sinking feeling the ax is going to fall at any moment. The company has also recently changed their long standing excellent PTO and benefits and under the new system employees get sick time, fixed holidays and shutdowns, and additional time off "at the discretion of your manager." I really don't mind the changes except for the loss of rea PTO for vacations. HR says you haven't lost vacation but if your manager is highly strung like mine taking a vacation might be difficult. In summary - Adobe was a great place with innovative ideas and excellent engineering as its priorities. Now, the Flash platform is the top priority and frankly I have my doubts its will succeed.

I am currently working in ACS CJM GDC and already regret the decision. Team switching here exists only “on paper” — in reality, it doesn’t happen. The biggest issue is the leadership style, which feels like one person running the team as a personal empire. Expect relentless micro-management, zero empowerment, and no mental peace. This is nothing like Adobe’s culture — in fact, it’s worse than many service-based firms (Infosys, Wipro, etc.), where your contribution and worth are constantly undermined. Employees are pressured to give positive survey feedback, creating a false image for senior leadership. The environment discourages collaboration, innovation, and visibility for others — everything is tightly controlled. Even though I’m not naming the person here, if you ask anyone in the team, you’ll immediately know who is being referred to. Yes, standard benefits exist, but no perk can offset a toxic culture that destroys confidence and mental health. If you value growth, respect, and peace of mind, stay away from ACS CJM GDC. The Adobe brand name here is meaningless.