Someone asked in the all hands, could they expect any changes to operational activities etc and Shannon said no
Looks like we are good
19 replies (most recent on top)
Remember Mark B promoted the concept of the "Massively Distributed Workforce". He argued that to succeed in a "distributed world," organizations must be digital.
Then he totally changed his stance. Shannon could say in February there will be no organization change and then on April 1st state there will be a major reorg and it’s not an April Fools joke.
ELT statements and promises mean nothing.
Shannon would not have visibility across the organization. Not would she make a concise statement saying that.
@kh she said there are no organizational changes coming
@OP You must be young or new to the company. Oh to be young and naive again. Neither she nor any other leader will ever admit an all hands call there will be more layoffs. Listen to her response and you will hear she never said, "no more layoffs this year". Leaders, like politicians, never tell us little people anything straight. Always spin and fluff. If you are young and have marketable skills....get out now.
@h so there will be layoffs in July is it ? FY27 is a 12 month period
First, Shannon would not know. She is not engaged in headcount planning. Second, there is a very aggressive FY27 company-wide project underway whereby there will be organizational changes and a massive exit of employees. This in addition to the sales of a MF business unit.
.
In cold weather, a hand needs a glove. And in crummy times like these, us employees need love. But if there's nothing shaking, come this here July. we’ll all roll ourselves up in a big ball and die… that’s life….
@dc
Not certain if you were asking seriously ..or being funny (could be both .. LOL)
OT Leadership has been very clear upon the acquisition of MF they were shifting resources to 'lower cost geographies'. They have been transparent about this both in their strategy and in actual layoffs..the main target is US.."too expensive". Within the US they did a clearing first of MF legacy employees..but now since that 'well has almost run dry' they are targeting their other US based teams.
They have even gotten rid of the majority of their California based "C Suite" (long overdue IMHO).
There are a few employee groups essential (US Customer Facing Sales etc) and a handful of region specific experts..but everyone else has a target on their back.
BTW this "US is too expensive move everything to 'lower cost geographies' " strategy is neither new or unique to OT. All SW companies have engaged in this approach for well over 20 years.
OT has never and will never be creative in solving their OPEX issue..and the only lever thats easy to pull is firing US based staff.
Though firing all the US MF people immediately upon acquisition before they understood the products/processes or Enterprise customer base..wasn't very bright..as expressed in continued deterioration of financial results and lack of new logos brought in.
So if you were serious in the question and are in the US..I would just have a Plan B ready.
@dc In the US especially, where At-Will employment is the standard, the transition from valued team member to optimized resource (person whose role has been scrutinized against the bottom line) can happen in a ten-minute HR call.
@cw why do you say "especially in the US"
@OP
For clarity, you quoted Shannon as responding 'no' in response to a question about changes to 'operational activities'.
The person asking the question and Shannon both are being purposely vague, and IMHO are really 'splitting hairs' without using the term layoff.
Even if the assumption is "no layoffs in 2026"..she is talking in fiscal year terms..ie: none thru June 30. There have been many layoffs 1st week of July ..the last week of June the last several years. OT has layoffs every year either in Q4 or Q1...OR BOTH.
BTW the reason some of us are so vociferous is that we are trying to prepare you for the inevitable..especially if you are in the US. Many of you are still drinking the OT kool-aid and whistling past the graveyard.
Please have at least 6 months cash savings.
You never know when the ax will fall ..but in OT, one thing is certain..the ax will fall. Be prepared.
There are some serious whingers within this space. If you are still employed by OT and engage in irrational negativity you should be embarrassed and I would guess just unhappy in life. As for those who have left, dont waste your time here, draw a line in the sand and move on and stop looking back.
This is a lie.
Virtual are not being managed out. I know several people who were actually recently just made virtual
@OP The lowest quartile will be perpetually managed out instead.
When a Manager loses enough direct reports, then they get managed out too.
The process creates the next lowest quartile set of candidates.
Rinse and repeat.
Of course there will be no layoffs because they are using workforce reductions that do not involve severance.
This has been mentioned dozens of time here.
@a7 don't need layoffs when you can constructively dismiss all your virtual employees
I can confirm. There are no layoffs for rest of 2026
There is no war in Ba Sing Se
There are no layoffs at Opentext