production

électricien

mécanicien de machines fixes

instrumentiste

cadre de santé

WestRock

Typical day: Either bored out of your skull with nothing to do, or crazy busy. Shift work sucks, unless of course you enjoy that type of work.

What I learned: Picked up some good controls and troubleshooting experience. Plant equipment is a mish mash of very old school controls to some PLC's. Plant is basically held together with spit and bailing wire.

Management: Immediate maintenance supervisor was good. Upper management is the main problem at this plant. The employees are just numbers to them. No Christmas parties, Stampeded BBq's, social clubs, nothing. The atmosphere they foster is very poisonous, and it shows. Nobody at the plant cares about their job (with the odd exception). It's just put the time in and go home. The biggest problem is there is no work/life balance. They constantly push the overtime on you. They tell you it's voluntary, but they expect it, and try to guilt you in to it with the suggestion that your job depends on it. They want overtime work during the week AND weekends as well. This is what contributed to me leaving the company.

Co-workers: Generally pretty good, with a few exceptions. Plant is unionized, with all that usually entails.

Hardest part of the job: The constant push for overtime, boring shifts when there is nothing to do (you can only tighten connections and clean so many times.)

Most enjoyable part: The technial challenge when something does break down.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Corporate does their best to ensure procedures are in place to make all employees happy and have equal opportunities to advance and contribute. They provide learning experiences so that you can be accountable for your success. Benefits aren’t bad.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Individual management of each plant depends on the leader in place. Biases are real and they will keep good employees from seeing their potential and giving back to the company they work for. You could be an asset but will not be noticed and stay in the same position/pay grade for decades although you are learning and contributing more and more of yourself each day.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
I’m sure it depends on where you work as this is a very large company, but my experience was not that great.  Biases were very real and it was very difficult for any employee to be seen due to the emphasis of culture in a bias way.  The work environment was pretty toxic at times.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Not very exciting. Day always dragged on. Hi anxiety levels. No opportunity for change unless you were able to fight the system. Goal was to do your work and go home.  No one wanted to contribute more because it was never respected or appreciated.

I worked at the Guelph plant as a corrogator. 

Unless you are in dire straits of needing a decent-paying job then stay away. 

The "training period" is a joke, you have two to three days of "training" during which the office staff gives you a very corporate run down of what they wish the culture was alongside a barrage of irrelevant slogans and mascots that have no relevance on the shop floor. 

Then when you have to learn the actual job they'll throw you with someone who will try to rush you through the actually relevant part of your training in a day or two. 

There is also the culture on the shop floor, if I had to sum it up with a single phrase it would be "den of vipers." On my first day, the start of my first shift saw two guys screaming at each other in the locker room and nearly coming to blows (one guy punched a locker so hard he left a dent in it). That's only one of example of many instances of this garbage I saw over my three months of employment. 

Finally, there is the work schedule, they'll have you changing shifts every week, so you'll have no sleep rhythm established while you work with the abusive jerks they have you paired with. 



Horrible place to work. Extremely toxic and grumpy people who don't get enough sleep, and like to boss you around. No support after the minimal training and the operators get mad at you all the time if you csnt keep up with their speed of producing boxes. The schedule.. you rotate mornings, afternoons, and nights WEEKLY.  The money is not worth that over your sleep  and your health. No work life balance as you have to plan according to the shift you get that week. They expect you to do overtime or they make you feel guilty or that your job is on the line. Supervisors do not care and just walk around all day doing "checks", and they always take the angry operators side. I would never recommend anyone to work at this toxic place. The day I left was one of the best decisions I ever made. 

This place has got to be the most miserable place to work in Guelph. Co-workers treat you less than garbage when you have to wear their stupid yellow hat while your on your probationary period. Constant humiliation is common place over the radio that you must wear to communicate with co-workers for doing your job, which they rarely use unless its to make derogatory comments about basically everything but work. If you are part of their union you can get away with anything. Supervisors and management are a complete joke and barely give you any training. I worked there for 88 days and two days before I would be hired full time, they terminated me. I would not recommend this place to anyone. If you know someone in management or someone in their union it might be different.

not productiveI have recently started using a language learning application to improve my French speaking skills, and overall, my experience has been quite positive. The app provides interactive conversations in different real-life situations such as restaurants, universities, and daily interactions. This feature helps me feel more confident when speaking and responding quickly.

One of the main advantages is that it reduces the fear of making mistakes, since I can practice anytime without pressure. Additionally, the app is easy to use and engaging, which keeps me motivated to continue learning every day.

However, I believe the conversations are sometimes too simple and predictable. They do not always challenge me to express complex ideas or develop advanced vocabulary, which is necessary for reaching a higher level like B2

WestRock in Milton provides a great working environment with a strong and positive work culture. From day one, I felt welcomed and supported by both the management team and my coworkers. The team is highly professional, respectful, and always willing to help, which makes daily work smooth and motivating. Safety, teamwork, and continuous improvement are clearly prioritized, and employees are encouraged to share ideas and grow their skills. Communication between departments is clear, and leadership shows genuine concern for employee well-being and development. The workplace promotes learning, collaboration, and accountability, creating a balanced and productive atmosphere. Overall, WestRock in Milton is an excellent place to work, offering stability, respect, and opportunities to grow while being part of a supportive and dedicated team.. 

1 Particular race of employee is exploited and always neglected, new immigrant workers treated with poor wages and minimum support and are exploited and not treated equally at this loaction. Company has good morals but “Missisauga location is famous for extremely unprofessional racist manager who does not have enough experience and compatibility is in charge which is affecting business and multiple employees”-BIG CONCERN. Ratio of multiculturalism with employees hired and promoted is also very bias. No appreciation for all your hardworks strongly recommend to work at different westrock locations if possible.

The people were cool and easy going same with office staff.

The manager was and is the issue, doesn't train properly and brings his life issues with him to the work place, no organization or structure, was hired for monday to friday however was basically threatened if I didn't work saturdays as well I wouldn't have a job.

Just wasn't worth the headaches for me as I like to just go to work, do my job and leave not deal with people's personal life issues and negativity especially for min wage.

I started with another guy who quit after two hours, I needed the job though and at least wanted to give it a honest shot but after being berraded, talked down to and treated like trash all week I decided to not return.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Breaks, payday, leaving shift and holidays! Any time not spent there!

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Everything. Lack of proper material to do the job properly. Management sits behind a desk and makes changes that makes your job more difficult to do, but you’re just expected to work harder and “make it work”

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
There really isn’t a work culture here anymore. It’s literally “just a job”

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Seriously, stress and aggravation all day. Your go home and block out the last 8h of your life spent there!

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Production 8 salaries reported	$20.41 per hour
Électricien 5 salaries reported	$227,000 per year
Mécanicien de machines fixes 5 salaries reported	$227,000 per year
Instrumentiste 5 salaries reported	$227,000 per year
Cadre de santé 5 salaries reported	$227,000 per year

Working at Smurfit Westrock: company overview and reviews

Smurfit Westrock

Smurfit Westrock ratings

Popular jobs at Smurfit Westrock

Salary satisfaction

Job seeker tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected