Just what the title says. 150 roles were eliminated last week alone.
49 replies (most recent on top)
Truth. I was a Thomson too. I honestly never knew of the "rent the storage unit" angle, but senior leaders always had wholesalers in their back pocket(s). It was always the same. "Place this monster order and you have 3-6 months to return."
Finance looked the other way, because they wanted to make their numbers too. When the massive return happened, they just threw the sales rep under the bus, got them fired and moved on.
To quote RD. "There is no December 32nd."
"I've witnessed unethical behaviour on epic scales, straight out fraud. I've seen bribes."
My god, how true this is. I am fortunate to work for a very ethical pubco now (many/most of the smaller/midsized companies are above board) but my gosh, the folks at Cengage and Pearson at least are the absolute worst. True example:
My division of Thomson (precursor to Cengage) was well known for always hitting their numbers and delivering annual results. How did this happen year after year without fail? Mid-level managers would ID target accounts, they would fly out to visit with account leadership, and a giant order would be placed in mid-late December. A warehouse would be rented and that is where the cartons of unneeded books would be stored until the new year rolled around. Bingo - number achieved! After the 1st of the year, of course, all of that stock would be returned to KDC.
My boss asked me to do this once. I was having a blow-out year but he wasn't quite making his number and he need to conjure up some $100k or so. I was instructed to drive to the city and rent out a storage space in advance of his trip out to seal the deal. I refused. Thought I was going to be fired but somehow or other I wasn't - the manager simply found another rep willing to play ball.
Some companies are simply "dirty" and Cengage is definitely one example.
I was having a discussion a few days ago. I've worked in many industries, including a couple of decades in educational publishing, where I started straight out of college. I loved it. I've been in senior meetings, or for that matter, meetings up and down the chain. I don't know MH, but I know many people who reported to him, and I know his predecessor, RD.
Not once, like ever, have I heard someone in publishing senior management mention the customer. I witnessed a publishing CFO come unglued, totally unhinged one November, when the forecast was not where he wanted it to be. Screaming, pounding the table. He clearly did not care about the customer, nor did anyone in the room.
I've witnessed unethical behaviour on epic scales, straight out fraud. I've seen bribes.
We've all been fed a lie, by the media, business, advertising and anything related that companies are benevolent. They are not.
I would argue that publishing is the worst, because no one at a senior level EVER has to face a pi---d off client. It's also because nothing is at stake. It's not like medicine won't arrive in time, or a surgery is botched due to equipment malfunction, or a house burns down because of faulty wiring.
Publishing's eternal problem is that the quality of the product is really impossible to measure. The end user is not the purchaser, so the purchaser, the true customer has zero voice.
The most horrible people I've ever had the misfortune of working with are publishing executives. They are the definition of posers and its not close.
Publishing's glory days were when there was little access to information and demographics were enormously in its favor.
Publishing people are some of the most talented, quirky and interesting people on the planet. They never get credit or recognition for the skills they possess.
Those complaining about quality are correct. Where you are incorrect is that anyone outside of your ecosystem gives two sh--s. They don't. Apollo will gut the company to force whatever return it can get. And when they do, they will sell it and the cycle will start again.
When I wrote, "a huge group of people," I meant all the laid off employees that you have repeatedly called "trash."
Huge Group? It’s me, you and like 3 other people if you read the comments. Let’s not pretend like you are posting this on The NY Times website. Based on your comments, you are just as culpable as the leaders you profess to hate. Say nothing, do nothing, rant on low budget websites, potentially post confidential information, and make up fake news. Seems like it’s just a matter of time. Good luck to you…
Again, that's a very judgmental take about a huge group of people whom you know nothing about. Many of us have tried the “adult conversation with your manager” route, and what we get in return is gaslighting or a polite brush-off followed by zero change.
I’ve seen so many rounds of layoffs here, and performance has nothing to do with it. The people making those decisions often don’t even know the individuals affected. Cuts are based on offshoring opportunities and cost, not merit. I’ve watched hardworking, competent people get laid off while underperformers skate by simply because they weren’t on some arbitrary list.
The system is flawed and pretending otherwise just protects the people who benefit from that imbalance. Stop blaming the victims. It's gross.
Fair point—but let’s be real, most people either move on or have an adult conversation with their manager. Then there are the usual suspects—same 10 people, same tired rants, shouting into the void like it’s a full-time job.
If anonymous venting helps you sleep at night, go for it. Just don’t confuse it with taking action. When things don’t go your way and you start asking, “Why me?”—do yourself a favor and check the mirror. The answer’s probably staring right back at you.
I’m hanging out until the robots take over.
No one’s claiming they’re “chained to their desks.” It’s entirely possible to love your job and still be frustrated with how the company is run. Both things can be true at the same time.
I guess no more free coffee? When did they last clean the bathrooms? First the free alcohol goes and now the coffee. They really need to hire a reliable cleaning crew and bring back the free stuff.
In response to your last two posts: You are also endlessly posting like it's a sport, except your sport is criticizing and verbally attacking employees. How is that any different????
Also, you know absolutely nothing about me. You don’t know if I’m a current or former employee, if I was laid off or chose to leave, or whether I’m even looking for a job. Yet you sit here and judge, judge, judge. You're so harsh that even The Layoffs removes your posts regularly.
And for the record, people aren't being laid off from Cengage due to performance. Performance isn’t even part of the equation. When a company outsources massive numbers of jobs overseas, that’s not about how well someone did their job. It's about cutting costs, plain and simple.
Good for you, enjoy your time in fantasy land and make sure to make the most out of your time off, like ranting here. There was no way it had anything to do with your outstanding performance, perhaps you should consider it a bonus for being such an avid poster to this site?!?!? And you wonder why you aren’t there anymore. Fascinating…
Of course people have the right to voice concerns, but there’s a difference between raising valid issues and endlessly doom-posting like it’s a sport. And let’s be honest: half the rants here aren’t about livelihood, they’re about ego bruises and score-settling.
No one’s pretending quitting is easy but acting like you’re chained to your desk with no agency at all isn’t exactly empowering either. Plenty of folks face economic realities and still manage to look for better paths without turning every forum into a pity bonfire.
@39d I was eliminated in May and am entirely convinced that no one even looked at my performance or job duties. Gale leaders and managers had to go and ET will figure out the consequences later, I guess
People have the right to voice concerns, especially when their livelihood is on the line. Quitting isn’t always an option and pretending it is ignores economic realities. The "if you don't like it, quit" take is the rallying cry of people who’ve never struggled to make ends meet or had dependents to support.
And yet, here you are, collecting a paycheck every two weeks? Must be terrible for you…
I can’t tell if you’re a Cengage executive, a private equity mouthpiece, or just someone in sales panicking over how the bad press is affecting your numbers. Those are the only explanations I can come up with for why anyone would go to such lengths to defend a company that so blatantly disregards both its employees and its customers.
Seeing a whole lot of LinkedIn posts from former colleagues this week that start with “after an incredible Xx year journey with Cengage…”
Go ahead, march straight to HR, hand over your badge, and spare us the martyr routine. If the company is truly the tyrannical wasteland you claim it is, why are you still here collecting checks and whining like it’s a hostage situation?
All these years spent griping, dragging the place through the mud, and now you’re shocked—shocked!—that it’s not sunshine and rainbows. What exactly is holding you back? The snacks? The masochism? Because from here, it looks like the only thing chaining you to the “burning building” is your own weird attachment to the smoke.
29 more roles terminated thr weeks of m1y 18 amd 26.
"Every time I or anyone else brings up issues with the overseas vendors, the response is always the same: "No one will notice." That tells you everything you need to know."
Yes. People in our team have been complaining for months about poor quality due to vendor/CPM issues. All complaints went to the void, and most of those people were terminated last month. They didn't get laid off because they complained; they got laid off because the company doesn't care about quality, only profit.
There was this dude here that had a Masters Degree and kept talking about what he learned about Marketing in business school. He said he could read a financial report and ours was not good. Thank god they got rid of that mo--n. He lacked that know nothing pirate attitude only winners have here.
Nice try, spin doctor, but no one's buying it. This isn’t about innovation or quality — it’s about private equity profits, plain and simple. Cengage has shown time and again they don’t care about quality. Every time I or anyone else brings up issues with the overseas vendors, the response is always the same: "No one will notice." That tells you everything you need to know.
Maybe Cengage is just taking out the trash. Many companies terminate large swaths of employees and hire new ones when they feel they can do better. Sad to hear you were part of the group that got cut, but maybe they are looking to try something different. Enjoy the time off and good luck in your next role.
They are hiring inexperienced out of college students and pay them a lot less than the seasoned and experienced employees. It’s a great job if you are just out of school, long term they will always be below pay grade in all ways
@2q0 Cengage is trying to cut costs by getting rid of employees. Over 200 people were eliminated in May alone. How do you expect people to believe this fairytale?
I hate to burst anyone’s bubble, but, we’ve been doing a lot of hiring lately, just in the sales department alone they’re hiring 20 people, and the finances are strong, so I think there’s a good future here at Cengage anybody that’s applying for a job or wants to come work here, I think it’s a good time to climb a board!
@2e5 wait a week or two. it’s coming.
@2e5 A bunch of people are being let go this week from media.
Do you actually believe that? They say that all the time and the next thing you know another person gets laid off. Even it's true, all that means is that your job is safe until next year. Those aren't great odds.
My manager said no more layoffs for the year!
20 more roles eliminated week of May 11
They need to offshore those smug ba----ds in Sales!
You're the little kid complaining for the 100th time about the same thing. Seriously, your endless hypocrisy is so tiresome. Yawn.
"So if you’ve already been let go and you’re still lurking here, let’s be honest, it’s not about sharing intel, it’s about spite."
Who cares what motivation(s) brought someone here? This is a board open to all, no ID badge required. And there is certainly nothing wrong with feeling spiteful over a termination, that's just human nature. There are no hall monitors here, and no one particularly cares what your opinion on others' postings might be.
Brooke, Charlotte, Barb, Emily, Christie, Michael and company seem to not like honest feedback about how employees are being treated. 😊
Note: They don't care. Not a guess. If they seem to "not like honest feedback," its simply because its annoying to them. Like a little kid complaining for the 100th time about the same thing.
Brooke, Charlotte, Barb, Emily, Christie, Michael and company seem to not like honest feedback about how employees are being treated. 😊
According to the site’s purpose, this is meant to track potential layoffs - not serve as a therapy circle for bitter ex-employees. So if you’ve already been let go and you’re still lurking here, let’s be honest, it’s not about sharing intel, it’s about spite. You wouldn’t have access to any current info anyway. Let’s just call it what it is - spite and yelling into the wind - have fun with that.
And you come to the Layoff daily to roast strangers who have lost their jobs. You're actually worse than the people you complain about. Oh, the hypocrisy.
It was 151 roles and yes the numbers are true.