Racist, Sexist, Leadership = Awful culture - Anonymous employee Kite Pharma Employee Review

1.0
Jul 15, 2021
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Location. Commuter Benefits. Office Space.

Cons

I have worked in this industry for 18 years and have never encountered such an awful employee experience. The turnover at the leadership level is constant. The new CEO came onboard and got rid of her entire leadership team. She then hired unqualified leaders that lack integrity, lack the necessary experience, and promote a racist and sexist workplace. I have never felt more uncomfortable in a workplace than I do currently. Women are overlooked for promotions and often times they are displaced only to be replaced by less experienced and less competent men. I have witnessed 2 of my male colleagues repeatedly talk down to female colleagues and no one ever addresses their behavior. Women are disrespected and their opinions are often ignored in meetings. In many ways it feels like a 1960s workplace where women were viewed as "less than" their male counterparts. I also echo the prior reviews here: Diversity is non-existent at this company. I even heard an employee joke recently that they should pay HR a bonus if they hire a person of color because it never happens. When a person of color is hired they are often photographed for the website and print materials to give the illusion of diversity but then they leave because they are passed over for promotions and not given the same opportunities as the white employees. My colleagues have often raised concerns to HR about the hostile work environment but their concerns are never addressed and then they are retaliated against. I have seen leaders say and do things that are so unethical that it makes me question why I joined this company every day. Leaders do not care about their teams and they lack empathy and character. Employees at all levels are undervalued and under appreciated. Many of the top performing employees have left because the culture is toxic and they said it was affecting their overall health and wellbeing. The leaders here say that they care about patients but they only make decisions that are based on making money and cutting corners- the patients are not considered when large decisions are made that negatively impact their care. The salary, bonus, and stock are competitive but the years of my life that I have wasted working for these awful human beings is not worth the money. Please take my advice and do not consider joining this company. Once the pandemic is over and my stock is fully vested, I plan to look for a new job because this company is the worst place I have ever worked. I am a highly educated, high performing employee and wish I would have done more research before taking a risk and leaving a great company to come to Kite where racism and sexism run rampant.

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Kite Pharma Response
4y
Hi, this is Matt Hostetler. Your feedback is important to us and we take allegations like the above extremely seriously. One of the things I am most proud of at Kite is our collaborative and inclusive culture where employees feel like they can speak up. We have a confidential ethics hotline where I hope you'll give us the opportunity to discuss these comments further. Please call 844-820-2719 to get in touch.

Explore other reviews about Kite Pharma

5.0
Feb 11, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Amazing staff and growth potential

Cons

Like most companies hard to understand exactly what upper management goals are

3.0
May 17, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Great benefits including 401K matching, tuition re imbursement, HSA matching, stock/bonus awards, and wellness awards. - Excellent campus with onsite/subsidized food court, gym, volleyball/pickle ball/volley ball court, zoom enables conference rooms, and shuttle service. - Company shutdown in July and December. - Laboratory spaces stocked with new equipment. - Utilizes electronic batch record system instead of paper.

Cons

- Poor collaboration between site leadership resulting in distractingly competitive environment focused more on positive optics rather than continuous improvement. - Poor short term and long term planning, often resulting in inconsistent operations schedule and unclear deadlines/objectives.

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