Terrible leadership and culture of fear equals a failing business. - Anonymous employee Petco Employee Review

1.0
Dec 25, 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Business is focused on pets. San Diego has great weather.

Cons

If you are looking for a corporate job, you will not further your career or make yourself more marketable at Petco. You will actually regress. There is no diversity of thought. Differing opinions result in lay-offs or terminations. Note that the only positive reviews are from some of the employees who work in the stores. New executive leadership doesn't believe in developing employees. Bottom line results are all that matters. They are in a vicious cycle of annual lay-offs and cutting costs which prevents them from investing in the business which has been pointed out in numerous reviews on this site. The company culture is fear and lack of communication so employees are left guessing what will happen next. There are no advocates in HR for the company culture or what is good for the employees, just "yes-people" who say whatever the business wants to hear. HR knows that pay, benefits and salary increases due to promotion are drastically below the market but do nothing about it because they are afraid to rock the boat and possibly be in the next round lay-offs. They play favorites and are constantly in self-preservation mode with no vision.

Explore other reviews about Petco

1.0
Jul 14, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Wonderful people under the Sr. Director level - Dogs in the office - Brand name carries weight on your resume

Cons

- Sr. Directors and above are largely nepotism hires rather than merit-based promotions - Leadership team is toxic and disrespectful, and that tone trickles down to other senior leaders - Sexism shows up repeatedly, with women being asked to pick up the work of men without additional pay. Or men being promoted over women due to favoritism and not merit. - Nearly every employee I worked with was disengaged and functioning out of fear of layoffs rather than job satisfaction (layoffs happen multiple times a year) - The company's declining position also makes it harder to land your next role, since a recent Petco title now reads as coming from a struggling brand

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