Great People, Poor Long Term Growth - Senior Product Manager Cox Automotive Employee Review

3.0
Feb 10, 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I worked across multiple business units while working here. I can 100% say the following were good aspects of my job: 1. The teams are motivated and passionate. They strive to make something great 2. The people culture is wonderful on the engineering and product teams. The people at the team and director level are invested, transparent, and honest 3. The agile processes are much more mature than other organizations. The scaled agile allows for decent planning for your next 3-6 months across teams and business units 4. I learned a lot on the job that helped advance my skillset. Their directors and managers are knowledgeable and friendly. They also provided paid training to take me even further 5. Unlimited PTO, though I didn't use a ton of it and the open concept team spaces are great for collaboration (love whiteboard walls)

Cons

1. If you are part of specific orgs, such as Dealertrack, Accelerate, or Dealer.com, expect to have a re-org roughly every 6 months. Your directors and leadership will likely realign. This makes it difficult to ever advance since you have to prove yourself again to whoever your new boss is. I received one promotion in the last three years I was there, and only because my new boss had worked with me previously on another project. This also causes challenges with actually completing projects you previously gained approval for since the new leadership will have new priorities. Your plans will likely pivot every three to six months, and when it happens, you will be expected to scramble to size and deliver whatever the new shiny idea is. This will happen sometime after you have completed quarterly planning, so you will lose valuable time trying to investigate, scope, and determine delivery of whatever new thing they came up with 2. You have a decent probability of seeing people in your business unit either terminated or offered demotions roughly every 6 months. It isn't based on work ethic or contributions. It doesn't matter how long you have been there. If you have been offered a demotion, it will likely be more responsibilities for less pay 3. Leadership above the director level typically has a "what makes me look good" mentality. They can be aggressive, harsh, and criticizing if your aren't someone who supports their agenda (which again, changes every 6 months). They tend to hire and promote individuals who talk a good game, but don't actually produce quality, valuable products. 4. Like every other company I have worked at, don't expect to go past your "pilot" or "MVP" product release because they are already planning the next crazy thing they think might advance their own personal agenda 5. You will bear continual underlying stress about whether you will have a job tomorrow, especially in the January and June timeframes when the axe tends to fall (sometimes a small one in the fall as well)

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Cox Automotive Response
5y
We appreciate you taking the time to share your experiences. Our business success and positive culture alike are driven by our values. We're committed to doing the right thing, always. So we really appreciate you sharing feedback to let us know how we can be better. Know that we do take your feedback seriously and we will discuss this with our leaders. We wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors.

Explore other reviews about Cox Automotive

5.0
May 28, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great opportunities to learn the latest tools and technologies

Cons

there was some travel involved and i hate to fly but wasnt too bad

1.0
Jun 26, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Benefits are good. PTO Day 1.

Cons

No advancement opportunity. They claim they hire internally, but they don't seem to adhere to that. Out of nowhere, hours were cut from 40 hours to 32 for our particular shift due to "business needs". However it seems like we are rarely caught up at the end of the night. The same position on another shift did not lose nearly as many hours. Then, there was a location wide meeting where they bragged about record sales and record profits. Seems pretty insensitive to do in front of employees who lost over 20% of their pay. The manager comes off as completely harsh and rude. When you fill out a survey stating facts, they are met with a dismissive tone followed by, "you know this is not true". Training is non existent. Other underpaid employees have to train you so it's like a game of telephone where the training contains just a little less information or a little more incorrect information each time. Pay for other positions in the organization is below average. When applying for those positions internally, they want to base pay on your current role instead of based on qualifications for the job being offered. There is a pay range listed for jobs, don't expect to get anywhere near the top and you are LUCKY to see the middle of that range. Pay raises are not anywhere near inflation rates, so if you stay more than a year you are losing money.

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