Perfect Example of How Not to Run a Company
Pros
Good pay and benefits, free company vehicle/gas/insurance/maintenance that you can use for personal use, some decent coworkers, looks good on resume, very stable industry and very financially strong company.
Cons
I could write a novel on downsides to working at Lidl US. Poor management, lack of values/morals/ethics, an extreme culture (negative). To give an example of how the company worked: While an employee, I made a formal complaint about unethical activities by upper management of the real estate department. The unethical activity was widely known, but no one wanted to report it out of fear of retribution. I reported it through HR, met with them and the legal team, and both thought it was a major issue. Rather than investigate and check on examples and names I gave, they were forced to sweep it under the rug by the European members of the team. I resigned, but had I not, there is no doubt in my mind I would have been fired. Another example - with no cause or discussions/notification, my title was changed. Goes to show they don't consider what they are doing or how it affects people, they just see it as an opportunity to make a change that they can quantify and write down to look good on their file ("I changed the title of 28 employees, promote me"). I am a former member of the military, and I can tell you this company was run with more fear motivation than the military. Think a huge man screaming in your face is fear motivation? No, Lidl's method was to threaten you anytime you thought outside their box or made even the smallest mistake. Numerous employees were given dreaded HR performance reviews after making mistakes as small as spelling and grammar mistakes in internal memos and emails. This is due to inexperienced management with no leadership skills. As other reviews state - upper management is made up of Europeans with no idea how things work in the US, and an American or two with no idea what they are doing. The only way to climb the ladder is to do exactly what you are told (even if it is unethical/wrong/just plain stupid) and keep your own knowledge, experience, and ideas to yourself.