Does Charles River Laboratories pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Charles River Laboratories employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.0 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Charles River Laboratories. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Charles River Laboratories?

49% of Charles River Laboratories employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Charles River Laboratories 3.2 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.2 for culture and values and 3.1 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Charles River Laboratories?

Lab Technician (78) , Scientist (69) , Animal Care Technician (65) , Research Technician (55) , Technician (52) , Analyst (51) , Research Associate (46) , Research Scientist (42) , Supervisor (37) , Research Assistant (36) , Laboratory Technician (31) , Study Director (27) , Project Manager (25) , Manager (22) , Associate Scientist (20)

What are the pros of working at Charles River Laboratories according to real employee reviews?

"The ability to move around within the company is relatively good and the benefits are good." ((in 236 reviews)); "Great people you work with and a relatively easy job with very easy to understand ladder to climb." ((in 175 reviews)); "Great people and team to work with" ((in 47 reviews)); "Very interesting place to work and colleagues are great" ((in 43 reviews)); "Flexible hours available" ((in 42 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Charles River Laboratories according to real employee reviews?

"sites are disorganized and pay is low" ((in 184 reviews)); "Management is poor and people who are in charge lack knowledge of CDMO" ((in 169 reviews)); "The low salary also makes it hard to subsequently ask for more at another company." ((in 116 reviews)); "A lot of managers don't know what actually occurs in their department." ((in 32 reviews)); "upper management could do better caring for the employees." ((in 31 reviews))

What are employees saying about Charles River Laboratories layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about Charles River Laboratories layoffs and their outlook for job security at Charles River Laboratories in 2026.

What are the top reviewed Charles River Laboratories locations?

Wilmington , Mattawan , Reno , Ashland , Horsham , Shrewsbury , Memphis , Boston , Charleston , Worcester , Chicago , Bethesda , Raleigh , South San Francisco , Malvern , Wayne , Cambridge , Skokie , San Diego , Rockville , Morrisville , Newark , Frederick , Philadelphia , Spencerville , Kalamazoo , Wilmington , Durham , Kingston , Catskill

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Charles River Laboratories

Charles River Laboratories reviews

3.1

49% would recommend to a friend

(2,373 total reviews)

Birgit Girshick

64% approve of CEO

32% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

3.7

Diversity & inclusion

3.2

Culture & values

3.2

Work/Life balance

3.1

Career opportunities

3.0

Compensation and benefits

2.7

Senior management

Charles River Laboratories has an employee rating of 3.1 out of 5 stars, based on 2,373 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Charles River Laboratories employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology industry (3.5 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

2K reviews

1.0

Sep 12, 2014

Management doesn't care

Process development associate

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

While members of the senior management team are busy strategizing over the direction to take the business, the lack of empathy for the manual labor pool in the laboratories caring for rats, mice, and dogs is disgusting.

Cons

Most jobs in animal care consist of mindless work and a large amount of injuries are incurred. Internal politics get in the way of the company being successful. Policies are so strict that employees are constantly fired. There is no compassion.

1.0

Sep 5, 2014

Run Away As Fast As You Can!!!

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Company has a mission to succeed.

Cons

CRL is doing everything it can to maintain validity within the pharmeceutical testing industry...but at the expense of its employees. If you are interested in working in anything other than testing on rodents, run!! There is not an adequate onboarding process, no training on systems, very little interaction with HR or management. If you trying to have a career here...you are only kidding yourself.

5.0

Aug 26, 2014

A great work experience

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

There were very many pro's, nice facilities, etc

Cons

Long and early hours, and so on

Viewing 2281 - 2283 of 2,373 Reviews

Jobs at Charles River Laboratories

Associate Director Global Marketing - Biologics Testing (REMOTE)

Client Proposal Representative I

Research Analyst I – Immunotoxicology

Sample Management Tech I

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Management doesn't care

Run Away As Fast As You Can!!!

A great work experience

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