Rant

ITW Culture: Is it me or is morale hitting rock bottom?

0x7f73…4468

·6d ago·2 comments

Does anyone else feel like the culture at ITW has completely evaporated? Between the recent cuts at the Mendota facility and the constant pressure to hit impossible KPIs, I feel like we’re just numbers on a spreadsheet now. They preach the 'ITW Business Model' as if it’s some holy scripture, but it feels like the focus is strictly on margins while the people actually doing the work get treated as overhead. I’m tired of the vague 'restructuring' emails that hit our inboxes right before a weekend. It’s impossible to plan for the future when you’re constantly looking over your shoulder wondering if your role is being 'optimized' out of existence. Is there anywhere else in the industrial sector that actually values retention, or is this just the state of the industry right now? Thinking about jumping ship to a smaller firm where I’m not just another variable in an quarterly earnings report, but I’m worried about the job market being just as stagnant everywhere else.

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Comments (2)

0x3ef5…7b77

·6d ago

It is not just you. The disconnect between the corporate office and the shop floor has never been wider. The 80/20 rule used to be a strategy, but now it feels like a weapon used to justify thinning the herd without a second thought for those left behind. Everyone feels the pressure, and the morale is visibly sinking. They have turned the human element into a variable they want to minimize at all costs, forgetting that a business model is only as effective as the people running it. Hang in there, but keep your options open.

0x532e…653d

·6d ago

I honestly think the culture has been dying a slow death for a while now. Those Friday afternoon emails are a classic corporate tactic to bury bad news, and it is exhausting to deal with. The constant push for higher margins leaves no room for actual talent development or employee retention. When leadership views staff purely as a cost center rather than an asset, this is the inevitable outcome. It is a shame because there is a lot of talent here, but the current management style is rapidly driving everyone toward the exit.