kununu Score: 2.5Recommendation: 38%
Breakdown
31 employees rated this employer with an average of 2.5 points on a scale from 1 to 5.
Kia Europe GmbH Reviews
Kia
Europe
GmbH
A positive experience overall, though there are areas for improvement regarding onboarding and feature opportunities.
InternWorked for this company in Frankfurt am Main, Hessen at the time of review.
What I dislike about the employer
Usually, it is quite difficult to get a timely response from P&O, payroll, and GA. Fortunately, I have had very few issues with their topics, but I know colleagues who still face problems after years with salary calculations or find it very hard to book a pool car, as their tickets are often replied to very late.
Suggestions for improvement
It would be helpful to provide more support to interns, such as a document outlining all the important steps needed to settle in Frankfurt and Germany. For example, a guide explaining the anmeldung process, health insurance registration, and similar topics. I know that other companies, including Hyundai Motor Europe, offer something similar. Additionally, it would be beneficial to connect new interns with current interns before their first day, so they can start building relationships and receive advice on finding housing or choosing a good area to live in and so on.
Working atmosphere
I have really enjoyed working with everyone in my department since joining the company. Everyone is fair and there is trust among colleagues. After several months here, my initial expectations have been exceeded.
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The atmosphere within the company doesn't always reflect the reality outside. For example, I spoke with a Kia manager who has extensive experience in the automotive industry, and they mentioned that the hiring and travel freeze could be seen as quite extreme, especially since our business performance is strong. Additionally, some employees have expressed concerns about limited benefit as well as salaries that don't always seem to match their responsibilities and the high pressure to deliver results, even when performance is already good.
Work-Life Balance
In my team, the work-life balance is excellent. You can take vacation freely, there’s no pressure about working hours, and everyone is very supportive if you need help with personal matters. We also prioritize family, so we make sure to cover for each other whenever someone needs it.
Career/Professional development
For interns, especially after the hiring freeze, there are basically no opportunities for careers within the company. I’ve seen many interns who wanted to stay but had to leave because there were no open positions, even though their work was very supportive to the team and showed the need for an additional person. Sometimes it seems like Hyundai Motor Group is advocating for retaining talent in the group, but then does nothing to make it happen. Every time a good intern leaves, it’s a problem for everyone, since a new recruitment process starts, the team has more work with onboarding, and the intern only becomes fully effective after a couple of months while they’re still getting up to speed. The education opportunities are good with the free LinkedIn Learning and training budget, but only if you have a permanent position.
Salary/Social benefits
For an internship, especially compared to my home country, the salary is quite good. However, the benefits are generally quite limited. Hyundai Motor Europe provides significantly more to its employees, and it would be great to see Kia aim to match these offerings in the coming years.
Environmental and social responsibility
I’m not familiar with it, so I’ll give it 3 out of 5 stars as a neutral rating.
Collegiality
In my department, the cohesion is very high. People from different areas continuously ask for support from others, and nobody has ever held back. Personally, I have asked for help several times, and everyone has always been kind and supportive to me.
Interaction with older colleagues
I’m not familiar with it, so I’ll give it 3 out of 5 stars as a neutral rating.
Leadership behavior
I have a very good relationship with my manager. He always explains all the information I need to perform tasks clearly, holds me accountable for my projects, and involves me in some project decisions. Additionally, we have a good personal relationship as we often have lunch and breaks together, he has helped me with some bureaucratic matters, and we enjoy joking with each other.
Working conditions
The Kia office is very welcoming. The lighting is nice, and the kitchen area is great for taking a quick break with colleagues. The desks are well set up, allowing people to focus on their work. However, there are very few meeting rooms and desks available. My computer, in particular, is no longer as fast as it used to be. When I run complex applications or Excel formulas, it often freezes, and I have to restart the app, risking losing any unsaved work. Sometimes, I even need to restart the computer because it becomes completely unusable due to lag and application freezes.
Communication
Regular meetings with my team, as well as Town Halls and conferences, offer effective communication. I have always received enough information to complete my tasks and have consistently been informed about projects and company performance.
Equality
I’m not familiar with it, so I’ll give it 3 out of 5 stars as a neutral rating.
Interesting tasks
Since I am currently an intern, I have limited influence over my tasks and mostly handle operational work. However, over time, I have gradually taken on more complex and critical tasks. Occasionally, my workload has been a bit light, which I believe is because the projects in my team are very follow-up driven. We have many stakeholders involved, so we need several confirmations before moving on to more operational activities.
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Great place to work as well as working culture
InternWorked in Marketing / Product management in Frankfurt am Main, Hessen at the time of review.
Salary/Social benefits
Overall pay is good, but I don't understand the difference between mandatory and voluntary internships. Voluntary internships should be better paid while mandatory ones should be paid less. I am doing a voluntary internship since the beginning, no institution forced me to apply for this internship, and I don't have to prove to my professors that I have completed a certain number of compulsory hours. I am here because I want to work, gain experience and challenge myself, therefore the company might expect more out of me. In other companies there is a clear distinction of salary between voluntary and mandatory internship. At the moment, gross salary is the same for both.
Working atmosphere
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Work-Life Balance
Career/Professional development
Environmental and social responsibility
Collegiality
Interaction with older colleagues
Leadership behavior
Working conditions
Communication
Equality
Interesting tasks
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International environment and dynamic, young generation that shapes our culture.
EmployeeWorked for this company in Frankfurt am Main, Hessen at the time of review.
What I like about the employer
Working at Kia Europe is genuinely rewarding because of its highly international environment and the dynamic, young generation that shapes our culture. I appreciate how supportive my colleagues are—there’s always someone willing to help, share knowledge, or collaborate. The benefits are another big plus: having an individual training budget allows me to grow continuously, and the free canteen is a great everyday perk.
The working style is fast-paced and intense, which keeps things exciting and pushes me to perform at my best. It can be demanding at times, but thanks to the flexibility the company offers, I feel empowered to navigate this environment in a way that works for me. Overall, it’s a place where I can grow, stay challenged, and feel part of an energetic global team.
Working atmosphere
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Work-Life Balance
Career/Professional development
Salary/Social benefits
Environmental and social responsibility
Collegiality
Interaction with older colleagues
Leadership behavior
Working conditions
Communication
Equality
Interesting tasks
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“Great Place to Work” is more a recruitment strategy than a reflection of the company’s culture.
Former EmployeeDid no longer work for this company in Frankfurt am Main, Hessen at the time of review.
What I like about the employer
Free lunch (even we know there’s no such thing as “free lunch”).
What I dislike about the employer
Toxic leadership.
Suggestions for improvement
A shift in Kia Europe’s leadership approach is urgently needed.
For Kia to truly embody the values it promotes, it must move beyond mere words and begin aligning its daily practices with its stated principles.
Working atmosphere
Kia Europe’s culture is dominated by fear, control and distrust, leading management to adopt a defensive or aggressive posture whenever employees raise concerns or ask questions.
The company motto, “Don’t bring me problems, bring me solutions,” is often used to shut down open communication, discouraging team members from speaking up unless they have an immediate solution.
This fear-based approach backfires growth, limits innovation, and keeps employees from addressing genuine challenges that need collaborative solutions.
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Kia Europe’s workplace culture does not align with its public image as a “Great Place to Work.”
The actual environment is characterized by a fear-based approach to control, a lack of accountability, constant negative feedback without support, high workloads, and an absence of meaningful diversity initiatives.
Without a significant cultural shift toward a genuinely supportive and empowering workplace, Kia will struggle to achieve its aspiration of becoming an “Employer of Choice.”
Work-Life Balance
Work-life balance is nearly non-existent at Kia Europe.
Staff frequently put in overtime due to chronic understaffing and unreasonable workloads, and employees are often unable to compensate for this extra time.
Many in management work 10 to 12 hours a day, struggling to manage their overwhelming workload, which has led some to burnout.
This culture of constant overwork creates a sense of urgency that leaves employees spending long hours at their desks, often unable to take regular breaks.
It is common to see employees running to and from the restroom, trying to keep up with their tasks, and even being required to log time spent having a coffee unless it’s directly work-related.
Career/Professional development
Unlike many dynamic organizations, Kia has limited plans for expansion, which restricts the availability of new roles and career advancement opportunities within the company.
This lack of growth at the organizational level means that employees hoping to climb the corporate ladder often find themselves facing a stagnated career path, with few openings for promotion.
Further compounding this issue, Kia’s management approach includes a structured guideline for evaluating employee performance, which mandates that a certain minimum percentage of employees receive the lowest performance ratings.
This approach keeps overall expectations on career growth low and adds a layer of discouragement for employees who might otherwise aspire to progress within the company.
Even high-performing employees may receive limited recognition or lower ratings simply to fulfill these internal quotas, regardless of their actual contributions or potential.
Salary/Social benefits
Despite Kia Europe’s ambition to be an “employer of choice,” its salary offerings do not reflect the intensity of workloads or the high demands placed on employees, which often far exceed the traditional requirements of similar roles.
Teams are regularly expected to work overtime to compensate for understaffing, often without appropriate financial recognition or the ability to recuperate this time.
For many employees, the additional hours and stress are not matched by fair compensation, leaving them to feel that their efforts and sacrifices are overlooked.
Environmental and social responsibility
At Kia Europe, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives remain largely on the sidelines, with minimal commitment to integrating these values into daily practices.
Despite the company’s claims to uphold modern, responsible business standards, there is little evidence to suggest that these initiatives hold any real weight in decision-making or management priorities.
Topics such as gender parity and age diversity are brushed aside, receiving little attention until external audits or compliance checks demand action.
Gender balance and equal representation, for instance, remain more of a checklist item than a core objective.
Although Kia Europe occasionally touts the importance of a diverse and inclusive workforce, in practice, no tangible steps are taken to close gender gaps, nor is there a genuine effort to create a balanced age distribution within teams.
Instead of proactively building a culture that champions diversity, equity, and inclusion, Kia Europe’s approach is reactionary, taking minimal action only when forced by external scrutiny.
Collegiality
While team members are generally friendly, management’s authoritarian style creates a stressful, hostile atmosphere.
Collaboration takes a back seat to a hyper-competitive environment.
Although management believes this drives performance, it only fosters unrealistic achievement standards, causing friction and undermining teamwork.
Interaction with older colleagues
The leadership structure is dominated by older executives who tend to favor traditional, command-and-control management styles.
This creates a work culture that is more about compliance than collaboration, fostering an environment of fear and toxicity.
This homogeneity in leadership limits the company’s adaptability and innovation, as well as the perspectives available to younger employees.
Leadership behavior
Interactions with my manager were the least favorable part of my experience.
My manager routinely exhibits toxic behaviors, including gaslighting, gossiping, sarcasm, passive aggression, and constant criticism, aimed at keeping employees under strict control.
Interns and junior employees are often on the receiving end of humiliating treatment, frequently breaking down in tears, eroding their self-confidence and affecting their career aspirations.
In general, management’s focus on minor issues often leads to relentless micromanagement, while important, high-level objectives are ignored.
Employees are expected to operate with zero error tolerance, and any perceived “failure” is met with passive-aggressive comments and sarcastic remarks.
Constructive guidance is rare; instead, employees face criticism without any direction on how to improve. This feedback often feels designed to undermine rather than help, leaving employees in a state of perpetual self-doubt.
It is particularly concerning that new hires are subjected to this treatment from the start, with almost no onboarding support.
Working conditions
The physical work environment and resources provided are insufficient, with outdated technology and limited meeting spaces.
Employees frequently have to work around these limitations, adding to the stress and frustration of the job.
Communication
Kia Europe’s approach to communication reflects its broader culture of blame and mistrust.
Managers often discuss colleagues disrespectfully in open spaces. This lack of professionalism discourages open communication.
Public reprimands are common, and new employees are often introduced to this environment with minimal onboarding or training.
The command-and-control management styles creates an environment of fear and high stress, making it difficult to communicate issues effectively.
Equality
Kia Europe often promotes the diversity of nationalities among its employees, but it lacks genuine initiatives to foster equity or to close the gender gap.
Women hold very few leadership positions, and those who do often mimic the attitudes of their male counterparts to fit in.
This leaves younger women without positive female role models, diminishing their confidence in their own potential and discouraging them from aspiring to higher positions.
Kia Europe’s superficial diversity efforts do little to inspire women or foster an inclusive culture.
Interesting tasks
Employees are often assigned unfamiliar tasks with tight deadlines and little to no instructions.
This pressure to perform without any support makes for an unsustainable workload.
This paired with poor project planning and constant “firefighting” keep employees under time pressure, adding to an already tense atmosphere.
Tasks are often outdated and inefficient, with many assignments easily automatable.
However, a lack of digital literacy in management means that inefficient, repetitive tasks continue to take up time.
Employees regularly spend excessive hours refining PowerPoint slides and updating old Excel files, tasks that add little value but remain a staple of the company’s operations.
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It's ok
EmployeeWorked for this company in Frankfurt am Main, Hessen at the time of review.
What I like about the employer
Location is nice. Canteen is great. Very International. Nice industry to work in.
What I dislike about the employer
Culture, hierachy, salaries are not great
Suggestions for improvement
They need to change or adapt to the European culture. As expected, due to the fact that it is a strongly Korean influenced company, the hierachy and its complexity play a very important role. Sometimes you also feel the "fear" of doing things or asking questions, which is not desired in a company that on paper wants to innovate and be customer-centric.
Working atmosphere
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Work-Life Balance
Career/Professional development
Salary/Social benefits
Environmental and social responsibility
Collegiality
Interaction with older colleagues
Leadership behavior
Working conditions
Communication
Equality
Interesting tasks
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Great place to work.
EmployeeWorked in Finance / Controlling in Frankfurt am Main, Hessen at the time of review.
What I like about the employer
International environment. Great canteen(free).
What I dislike about the employer
Level of transparency.
Suggestions for improvement
Reduce the control from HQ and more trust on local.
Working atmosphere
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Work-Life Balance
Career/Professional development
Salary/Social benefits
Environmental and social responsibility
Collegiality
Interaction with older colleagues
Leadership behavior
Working conditions
Communication
Equality
Interesting tasks
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Sehr interessantes Praktikum mit eigenständigen Aufgaben
Former InternDid no longer work in Distribution / Sales in Frankfurt am Main, Hessen at the time of review.
What I like about the employer
Internationales Team, Hohe Autonomie bei den eigenen Aufgaben, Leistungen wie Jobticket und kostenlose Kantine
Working atmosphere
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Work-Life Balance
Career/Professional development
Salary/Social benefits
Environmental and social responsibility
Collegiality
Interaction with older colleagues
Leadership behavior
Working conditions
Communication
Equality
Interesting tasks
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Einfach sein lassen, besonders als Frau
Former EmployeeDid no longer work in Administration in Frankfurt am Main, Hessen at the time of review.
What I like about the employer
Kantine und relativ gute Bezahlen
What I dislike about the employer
Diskriminierung, Qualität wird mit Quantität verwechsel hinsichtlich Arbeitszeiten....
Suggestions for improvement
Gleichbehandlung und Fairness sucht man bei KME vergeblich. Schwanger werden und mit Kind Teilzeit arbeiten geht bei KME nicht. Es gibt keinen Betriebsrat im Unternehmen oder eine andere Instanz die AN-Interessen vertritt. In Summe: nichts in das man investieren sollte, Glücklich sein kann mit KME nicht funktionieren.
Work-Life Balance
Collegiality
Working conditions
Salary/Social benefits
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Mein Vorgesetzter kündigte schon an, dass es aufgrund der kurzen Einarbeitungszeit, "zuerst etwas holprig" werden würde!
Former Temporary workerDid no longer work in Research / Development in Frankfurt am Main, Hessen at the time of review.
What I like about the employer
Gute Kantine. Verkehrsgünstige Lage.
What I dislike about the employer
Koreanischer Managementstil, Willkür durch Manager, Nicht-Einhaltung vorgegebener Richtlinien durch das Management. Sehr unflexible Arbeitszeiten/Kernzeiten. Kein Home-office möglich.
Suggestions for improvement
Gefährdungsbeurteilung durchführen und Stellen- bzw. Arbeitsplatzbeschreibungen einführen. Prozesse hinterlegen. Einarbeitungspläne erstellen. Vorgesetztenbeurteilungen einführen.
Working atmosphere
Mitarbeiter ok, koreanische Vorgesetzte zum Teil etwas schwierig
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Nach außen gutes Image. Jedoch hohe Personalfluktuation.
Work-Life Balance
45 Stundenwochen normal
Career/Professional development
Management-Stellen wurden meist durch Neu-Einstellungen besetzt,. statt durch Weiterqualifizierung der eigenen Mitarbeiter.
Salary/Social benefits
Gehalt ganz ok für Zeitarbeit.
Environmental and social responsibility
(-) Keine Mülltrennung, keine Gefährdungsbeurteilung der Arbeitsplätze. (+) Kostenlose, sehr gute Kantine für (fast) alle.
Collegiality
Nicht besonders groß, aufgrund vieler kleiner "Unterabteilungen"
Interaction with older colleagues
Die älteren Kollegen hatten überwiegend Manager Funktionen.
Leadership behavior
Bei 4 Managern, denen ich zuarbeitete, waren 2 "unaufällig", 1 ok aber führungsschwach,, 1 cholerischer, teils überforderter Manager funkte quer, um "Macht" zu demonstrieren.
Working conditions
Schöner Arbeitsplatz an und für sich. Jedoch viel Rücksichtslosigkeit durch Lärmbelästigung durch Kollegen aus der nahe gelegenen Kaffee-Ecke und Besprechungen mit Managern mitten mitten im Open-Space Office, statt den kleinen - meist leerstehenden - Besprechungsraum zu nutzen. Häufige Störungen durch meine Funktion als "Go-To" und Mädchen-für-alles.
Communication
Infos nur auf Nachfrage, wenn überhaupt.
Equality
Als Zeitarbeiter ist man selten "gleichberechtigt". Wenige Frauen in der Abteilung. Viele Mitarbeiter über Werkverträge tätig.
Interesting tasks
Wenig eigenständige Aufgabengebiete, viele routinearbeiten.
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Nicht zu empfehlen oder es ist nicht alles "Gold" was glänzt oder einen bekannten Namen hat!
Former EmployeeDid no longer work for this company in Frankfurt am Main, Hessen at the time of review.
What I like about the employer
Einziger Pluspunkt ist die Kantine, die jedoch auch kurze Pausen ermöglicht!
What I dislike about the employer
Vieles
Suggestions for improvement
Europäisch werden, Gesetze beachten, auf Arbeitnehmer eingehen!
Working atmosphere
..sehr starker koreanischer Einfluss mit allen Facetten!
Image
Als Automarke gut, als Arbeitgeber das Gegenteil
Work-Life Balance
....gibt es quasi nicht! Arbeiten, Arbeiten, Arbeiten - wenn man früher gehen muss, wird der Umstand schon negativ wahrgenommen. Es lebe die Face-time... Home-Office und Flexibilität - was ist das?
Career/Professional development
Es gibt Möglichkeiten, aber begrenzte Budgets und keine Zeit teilzunehmen. Mehr Schein als sein
Salary/Social benefits
Das Gehalt entspricht nicht dem Markt, keine Belohnung der individuellen Leistung beim Bonus - Suozalleistungen quasi nicht vorhanden
Environmental and social responsibility
Mülltrennung - was ist das?
Collegiality
Die Kollegen halten zusammen, was in dieser Umgebung auch notwendig ist, um motiviert zu sein
Leadership behavior
Es gibt einige gute Vorgesetzte, die Mehrheit leider nicht (Nasenfaktor, keine Transparenz) und selbst gute Vorgesetzter müssen noch den koreanischen Gegenpart überzeugen
Working conditions
Wenn man auf 80-er Jahre Stil steht, ist es toll!
Communication
Es gibt keine strukturierte interne Kommunikation - man erfährt eher über die Presse, was es Neues gibt!
Equality
Nicht gegeben!
Interesting tasks
Interessante Aufgaben gibt es, aber so viele, dass man quasi nicht mehr nach Hause kommt oder mal entspannt Urlaub machen kann!
Interaction with older colleagues
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Questions about reviews and salaries
- Based on 40 experiences of current and former employees, Kia Europe is rated an average of 2.5 out of 5. This score is below the average for the Automotive sector (3.5 points). 67% of the evaluators would recommend Kia Europe as an employer.
- Based on 40 ratings, employees like the Collegiality, Interesting tasks and Interaction with older colleagues factors about the company the most.
- In addition to positive feedback, employees also have suggestions for improvements to the employer. Based on 40 ratings, employees think Kia Europe can improve as an employer in the area of Leadership behavior.