My time at Akima was defined by dysfunctional leadership, a complete lack of accountability, and an HR department that only acted when money—not people—was on the line.
There were three managers, each contributing to the decay in different ways:
• One was arrogant, untrusting, and power-tripping. She constantly micromanaged employees, interrogated people over the most trivial things (even bathroom breaks), and carried herself with entitlement rather than leadership. She once walked up to me and literally took the chair I was sitting in without saying a word—just because she could.
• The second, brought in under the guise of “fixing” operations, was prideful, manipulative, and promoted through military favoritism—not competence. He openly bragged after hours about how many employees he had terminated, and told me to my face that if I wanted to grow or earn more, I should just leave and go federal—because there was no path forward at this company.
• The third was a checked-out recruitment manager who, when I asked about advancement during my interview, laughed and said, “You can have my job.” He hired absolutely anyone—regardless of background, conduct, or red flags—which led to constant HR conflicts between criminal, unprofessional, and unqualified employees all thrown into the same position.
The HR department? Useless—until the damage was financial. I once had a physical confrontation with a reckless employee with a criminal background, brought it to HR, and they completely swept it under the rug. That employee wasn’t let go until he stole corporate funds by abusing credit reimbursement intended for business travel—only then did they act. So as long as you’re not costing the company money, you can physically threaten coworkers and stay employed.
This company operates on favoritism, ego, and fear—not leadership, growth, or ethics. Issues are ignored until they explode. There’s no respect for employee wellbeing, no accountability in management, and no real future here. If you’re looking for a serious career or a functional workplace, look elsewhere.
