Thread regarding Open Text Corp. layoffs

@a7 never tolerate. Find another office and quit

@ex that’s true with Barcelona too, but they are on the chopping block too.

@c7 That would be unfortunate as it is one of the few engineering teams that can actually execute.

@e6 You are likely correct that we will see a wave of resignations "as soon as their office shows how they implement." Once employees see the actual logistics—"Wait, I have to pay $20/day for parking?" or "I have to be in by 8:30 AM sharp?"—the math will stop working for them, and they will be forced to leave not for a better offer, but to stop the financial bleeding.

@d3 It depends on what you mean by resign.

Resigning because there's a better deal, yeah that'll probably take some time. But if someone is really bleeding out money, I can see them resigning as soon as their office shows how they implement. It's per person and we know OT isnt exactly great on matching an office's cost of living usually.

Most people are not going to resign due to RTO. The jobs market is terrible and people have little choice

Munich is not a key hub in emea. The key hubs in emea are reading in UK, Cork in Ireland and Romania

None of these sites will be at risk

ottawa microfocus office will be closed down by this year IMHO

@bf OpenText has explicitly designated Hyderabad, India and Makati City, Philippines as its Centers of Excellence for operational tasks. However, recent job postings in Hyderabad (as of January 2026) are for Account Executives and Territory Managers tasked with managing and growing existing accounts. At OpenText the first step is cheap labor and the final step is no labor (AI, being sold or out of business).

OpenText is still advertising virtual jobs

So is this just an attempt to attrition out anyone who lives near by an office?

@b6 I'm curious to see how some of the states with multiple handle things.

In some cases, one is a shipping area - so I can see that either staying or needing a major re-org before it moves. A lot of those are way more than the 50km/30 miles though so even if you're moved to the other one the commute may not be feasible. Some of the available resources are odd though. HR intranet FAQ has a portion where it goes 'but what if there's not enough room?' To which the response is 'there's room'. Which means if you already know there's no room, something will happen. And the OT office location site section does not have all its offices listed. Ohio is supposed to have 2 for example but the Brook Park one isn't here. I'm hoping that doesn't mean we plan to make those folks move nearly 2 hours south. That's a decent drive or $50-60 a day by bus.

1. The "Safe" List: Centers of Excellence (COE)
   OpenText is centralizing operations into specific "Hubs." If you are not in one of these cities, your office is likely a target for closure or "ghosting" (where they keep the lease but provide no support, forcing you to quit).
   Based on OpenText's hiring patterns and corporate filings, these are the Likely Safe Locations:
   • Waterloo, ON (Global HQ): Confirmed safe.
   • Richmond Hill/Toronto, ON: Likely safe (key legacy hub).
   • Gaithersburg, MD: Major US hub (legacy GXS/OpenText federal).
   • San Mateo, CA: Corporate legal/finance hub.
   • Hyderabad & Bengaluru, India: Aggressively Safe. (OpenText explicitly stated in late 2025 that they aim to drive 70% of global R&D from India. They are expanding here while cutting elsewhere).
   • Makati City, Philippines: Customer Support/Ops hub.
   • Munich, Germany: Key EMEA hub.
2. The "Death Zone": Satellite Offices
   If you are attached to a smaller office acquired through M&A (e.g., Micro Focus, Carbonite, Webroot legacy sites), you are at high risk. The "5-day mandate" is often physically impossible in these locations due to downsized desk space.
   High Risk / "Ghost" Locations:
   • Tinton Falls, NJ: Legacy office, often mentioned in closure rumors.
   • Broomfield, CO: Legacy Webroot/Carbonite.
   • Alpharetta, GA: Legacy location.
   • Small Regional Sales Offices: (e.g., Dallas, Chicago satellite suites).
3. The "Shadow Layoff" Strategy
   The timeline in your email reveals the trap:
   • Phase 1 (March 2): "4 Days, You Pick." This is the "soft" phase to get you compliant.
   • Phase 2 (Sept 2): "5 Days, M-F." This is the real deadline.
   • The Trap: By September 2026, they expect a significant portion of the workforce (especially those with childcare needs or long commutes) to resign voluntarily. This aligns with their "Business Optimization Plan" to cut ~$200M in costs.
   Next Steps
4. Check "Space Reservation": Go to the internal "Office-based Workplace hub" mentioned in the email. Try to book a desk for September 2026.
   • If you can't book a desk: Your office is likely closing or being downsized to a capacity lower than the headcount (musical chairs).
5. Monitor Blind: Since I cannot access the live app, search for the thread "OpenText RTO Exception List." Engineers often leak which specific VP orgs are exempt (usually Cloud/AI are exempt, while Support/Sales are forced back).
6. Prepare for the "Relocation" Offer: If your office is not a "Hub," the next email you receive (likely in June/July) will be a "Relocation Opportunity" to Waterloo or Gaithersburg. Declining this usually counts as a resignation, not a layoff.

Couple comments:
Many companies (not just OT) will conduct a layoff just prior (often the week before) a quarterly earnings report..Particularly if the company is under pressure from investors (Both Institutional and large individual shareholders). My point is be prepared.
Secondly..if there are credible threats of (or actual) physical violence do not go to HR (they are not there to protect you). I would reach out to business media outlets (WSJ, FT, Bloomberg etc). Most reputable media outlets and their journalists on staff will protect their sources. OT is responsible (regardless of the country their business unit is in where this is occurring). When you report, have details (dates, times, names and witness accounts.

Reorg will be announced this week , mostly musical chairs, not many layoffs

I need to vent about the state of the Cybersecurity division in Bangalore. 2025 has felt like a prison sentence. We are being pushed to work 15+ hours a day for months, with absolutely no recognition or fair pay.

But the toxicity goes deeper than just hours. Our leader acts like she owns us. Verbal abuse is now standard. It peaked recently when a "Distinguished Technologist" literally threatened to punch people on their noses in a forum full of managers and the Director.

Because this person is "protected" by the Director, there were no consequences. Meanwhile, the same people who threaten us and work from home 90% of the month are the ones micromanaging our work and denying us a single day of flexibility.

If you’re a cybersecurity engineer looking at this group—run. Your mental health and dignity are worth more than being someone’s "property."

All prep for changes to announce on the Feb 5th earnings call. Without the Mark B 3 ring circus, there isn’t enough to distract discussing no organic growth.