u/One_Condition8316

EssilorLuxottica’s culture is deeply toxic, particularly within Professional Solutions, where dysfunction begins with the president. The environment he creates is driven by fear, overwork, and demeaning behavior, with stress, passive aggressiveness and intimidation treated as management strategies. This culture is not challenged by weak HR leadership that appears unwilling to intervene. All of Essilor’s legacy leaders have left, either because they disagreed with the toxic culture, or because they were toxic themselves, just no match for the president. 

EssilorLuxottica’s culture is deeply toxic, particularly within Professional Solutions, where dysfunction begins with the president. The environment he creates is driven by fear, overwork, and demeaning behavior, with stress, passive aggressiveness and intimidation treated as management strategies. This culture is not challenged by weak HR leadership that appears unwilling to intervene. All of Essilor’s legacy leaders have left, either because they disagreed with the toxic culture, or because they were toxic themselves, just no match for the president. 

The company’s extreme centralization creates constant operational paralysis. Even the smallest spending decisions require approval from the global CEO in Milan. Replacing departed employees can take years, and when approval is ultimately denied, managers are told that if the team managed to survive without that person during the delay, then the role was clearly unnecessary. This mindset leaves teams severely understaffed while remaining employees are expected to absorb unsustainable workloads, through nights and weekends, with the president openly requesting that. 

Compensation and employee support do little to offset these demands.  Salaries are low, benefits are poor, flexible PTO largely exists only on paper. With impossible corporate growth and margin expectations, promotions and merit increases have been canceled. Employees are pushed toward unattainable targets, ensuring bonuses and commissions remain out of reach, all while the global CEO decides to have a second home in NYC and to travel back and forth in the company’s private jet. 

Favoritism and nepotism further erode trust. High turnover among local talent contrasts sharply with the advancement of toxic individuals particularly in Strategy. Nepotism is evident with the son and stepson of the late founder of Luxottica both in their twenties given C-level global positions for which they show up 2 days a week to “work”. This disconnect between leadership privilege and employee sacrifice fuels broader dissatisfaction.

EssilorLuxottica has the potential to be a transformative force across vision care, med-tech, and fashion, but its current leadership culture severely undermines that opportunity.