Company on the decline - Senior Software Engineer Axios Employee Review

1.0
Jan 19, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

At this point, not much to say here. Still plenty of support/emphasis on DEI, and work/life balance is decent relative to other tech companies. Be wary of the recent positive, but short reviews here.

Cons

Like other media companies, the business has suffered over the last 1-2 years and the outlook is not improving; the company has had to react by cutting benefits and positions. Within the product/tech org, my experience found some teams better off, while others suffered long-term turnover issues stemming from poor leadership and nepotism; I found workplace politics rife and more important than actual contributions. Leaders allowed favoritism to obscure their judgement, overlooking rampant personnel performance issues and producing a toxic culture. My personal experience aside, given the outlook of the company and the news media industry in general, it's not worth pursuing a tech-related career here. Layoffs / role reductions, and people migrating to better jobs over the last year (across the company) also portends the silent killer of companies: brain drain. Your best employees leave for better opportunities, and eventually you're left with your worst performers, smaller teams doing more work, and new folks struggling to assemble enough context to course-correct a deteriorating culture/tech stack. Do you really want to step into that for the mediocre salary they've offered you? (Those layoffs in 2024 eliminated some of the higher-paid individuals, only for the same roles to be re-listed and backfilled with lower salaries)

Explore other reviews about Axios

5.0
Jan 27, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

It's the least toxic newsroom I've ever worked in (which isn't saying much) BUT my colleagues genuinely care about me and vice versa. Leadership is pretty transparent and regularly communicates with staff, even when it's hard. I've been given room to grow and learn, and I've seen similar opportunities arise for others.

Cons

There have been some growing pains as the company leaves its start-up era.

1.0
Apr 24, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Fully remote work, competitive salary

Cons

Other recent reviews are spot on. Culture and morale has deteriorated in recent years, along with any sense of clarity or direction around the company’s mission and goals. The company seems to be growing too quickly with little strategy. Management will make a show of seeking feedback, but companywide decisions are made abruptly and are handed down from the very top. Layoffs have become a frequent occurrence. The institutional focus is less on fostering quality news gathering and sharing, and more on bolstering the appearance that the CEO is some sort of AI guru. Employees are pushed to “use AI” as much as possible with little direction or resources, and concerns about the tech’s limitations are brushed off. The results? Low quality “AI tools,” and a high tolerance for slop oozing its way into previously high quality output. Leadership and a few favorites receive praise, promotions and preferential treatment, but generally employees burn out quickly from frenetic pacing, understaffing and constantly shifting priorities. Many are either checked out or looking for other opportunities. Stay far away.

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