Working at Cooper Standard Automotive — Reviews by Employees

great place to work with lost of advancement opportunities

I agree with pretty much everything that other writers have said. I would particularly agree with the assessment of the Human Resources department. These people should be ashamed of themselves. They are simply there to support the management and could care less about the employees. When asked for policy, they never really know it and instead of trying to look out for the employees HR simply says, "Ask your supervisor." Real nice. Employment policy that varies with department... They do this simply so that different people working in the same department have perks that others don't. Pathetic.

Wow, who ever stated that engineers and sales have it better here are off base. In fact, if you are in sales, you got it made. This is sales driven company, Engineering, manufacturing, laboratory servides are push to the side. H.R. and I.T. are being told what to do. In other words, they are puppets for the masters in Novi. I also have never heard of company not making a big deal of going into bankruptcy and acting as is if "we'll all be fine". Looking for promotion or heading up the ladder? Not within this company look else where.

I agree with the previous person. I worked at Cooper and their new director of Engineering is completely unprofessional. He speaks before people and swears and degrades them. Human Resources have sat in his meetings and seem to turn a blind eye, I guess they are just waiting for the lawsuits. Strange the guy would brag about pissing off people and having been fired twice.

I worked for Cooper Standard for 6 years before being put on temporary layoff (I have since found a new job). I found the company to be very dis-loyal to employee's who had worked there for a while. I saw people get laid off who had put in more years than others. I felt that layoff decisions were based more on favoritism than on performance.

Pay is terrible but I imagine it is the same everywhere. Respect is minimal. Directors and above get it all while the general workers get nothing. Benefits are getting less and less while owners scramble to make as much personal $ as they can via the bankruptcy. Job security is non-existent. And get ready, I hear three plants are going to be closed as punishment for the union holding firm. They beat everyone like a dead horse so there is no work-life balance. Career and growth potential is a thing of the past. Location for me is fine. I have family around but I feel sorry for those out there on their own without a family support system. My fellow workers are completely competent but are made to feel terrible by the directors and executives who are NOT competent. Work environment is depressing. Thank goodness for the end of the day and friends to have a drink with!

Great place to work. The director of Engineering lambastes everyone about not working everyday from 7am to 9:00 pm and then he (Kummar) is never in the office.Cuts were made with no real thought process as to the quality of the person just whether he liked them or not in his 2 minute first impression. Executives are out for themselves and cut people in a heartbeat. The longer you are there the better chance of being cut. Human resources is nothing more than a mouthpiece of the executives who have only their best interests in mind. The world of Cooper resides around the Novi Brain trust, scary. Glad I no longer work there, they are clueless.

You would do well if you were one of management, in engineering or sales. There are radically different rules and perks for people based only on their title. This is due specifically to the operating principles of management and most of these perks are passed to the above positions in a hush-hush manner.

They have NO loyalty to their employees. They do constantly demand loyalty, and always want people to do extra work (on the weekends) as they are woefully understaffed. The management is laughably stupid. They put their faith in ridiculous, over-the-top, flash in the pan, engineering ideas while failing to support their current clients and income generating projects.

They are as soul-less an organization as there could be. The worst part is that they have to be. They have decided to put all of their eggs in the baskets of 'the big 3'.

Cooper Standard Automotive is a on an unsustainable path and I doubt that they will exist in another 5 years despite filing bankruptcy this year. They under staff to the point where people are having heart attacks and health problems. Very few people actually enjoy their job. CSA treats people like they are objects. Their benefit package is awful. Their HR policies are for the most part unpublished, unavailable and ALWAYS tailored for the benefit of the company and earning the almightly $! They offer minimum vacation time. In fact I know employees who were laid off/terminated who actually had to pay CSA back for vacations days they had used because CSA's vacation policy is so twisted. They have unlawfully taken money out of employees checks for things like administrative fees for paying child support. They have minimal regards for the law and are just plain ruthless. The employee contributions for benefits are astronomical. $70+/week for family medical coverage. They recently took our retire plan away and replaced it with an enhanced 401k plan-Yes the same type of unstable 401k that most Americans lost 50% or > of their savings on in the last year or so.. While Goldman Sachs and Cypress (owners of CSA) are having record earnings and paying out big bonuses, the CSA Plants are given no funding. The plants are run down and borderline un safe. Benefits and wages are taking a step backwards. Employee morale is taking a step backwards. The only thing that will change this company for the better is to fire all of the executives and start from scratch. Oh and by the way...If you couldn't tell already I wouldn't recommend working at CSA unless you absolutely had to.

Cooper Standard has cut so much staff that everyone has 3 jobs and is unable to do any of them well. The pay is pathetic will no merit increases in several years. There is no respect from management for what anyone does. Everyone is looking for a new job, so there will be openings but if your smart you will stay away from this one.