The company has been in decline for a while, stock price is down massively, and internally it feels very visible. Continuous cost cutting impacts almost every aspect of the employee experience. Salary increases are minimal or nonexistent, promotions are heavily restricted, benefits have been reduced repeatedly, and even basic office perks have been cut.
At the same time, expectations and pressure from leadership continue to increase. Headcount is reduced through silent layoffs and attrition, but workload and delivery expectations stay exactly the same. The mindset from leadership often feels like “just make it happen, don’t care how.”
Performance management has also become increasingly concerning. There is a strong perception internally that managers are pressured to push ratings downward in order to justify PIPs and create easier paths for terminations.
In recent years, the culture has shifted heavily toward an unreasonably demanding and aggressive working environment that does not fit well with Europe-based teams. Employees are expected to be constantly available, attend late evening meetings, work overtime regularly, and adapt to US time zones. There is little respect for work-life balance. The only real protection employees still have comes from German labor law and the works council which both they don’t like.
The launch of the Poland Office is officially presented as a good talent source and cost optimization initiative, but many employees know it’s an attempt to reduce dependence on the Berlin office and move roles into locations with weaker employee protections.
Strategic approach has also deteriorated significantly. Structured planning, prioritization, and thoughtful decision-making have largely disappeared. Instead, leadership frequently pushes large initiatives based on intuition or executive preference, often without any ROI validation. Teams are expected to execute immediately without questioning or going deep, regardless of capacity or long-term impact.
The culture has become highly political and toxic. People compete for influence, visibility, and ownership of teams/headcount instead of collaborating. In many cases, perception and “packaging” matter far more than actual impact or outcomes. Projects and individuals are still rewarded internally if they are highly visible and communicated well to leadership, even when the actual outcomes are failures. Reorganizations happen constantly, managers change every quarter, and there is almost no sense of stability.
There is also a strong perception of favoritism and double standards in leadership behavior towards people. Non professional relationships within senior management are known internally and tolerated, which further damages trust in fairness, meritocracy, and objective decision-making.
There is also a growing atmosphere of fear and resignation. Many employees are actively looking for opportunities outside the company, but the current job market is weak, and leadership seems fully aware of that dynamic. Internally, it often feels like this situation is being used to push employees harder while expecting them to tolerate conditions they otherwise would not accept.
If you are looking for a healthy long-term environment with strong leadership, strategic clarity, psychological safety, and good work-life balance, Hellofresh is probably not the right place.
