Myself and several coworkers were laid off from the OTTO Motors plant in Kitchener ontario today
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@OP vicky is the new GM of Otto.
She is a truly transformative leader
@n3b Blake has also bought some waterfront property in the middle of Florida, some bridges in New York and traded his cow for some beans.
@n4j They already promoted someone. I can't remember her name, but she was the Director of LVMCC, now she's going to be a VP who will relocate from Milwaukee to Cambridge I think. The announcement was posted on EPOCH recently.
Otto and Clearpath are gutted of any capable folks and slowly placed in the coffin…as expected. Per textbook…totally predictable.
The next step is to promote an obedient, incompetent, but loyal Karen, Jessica, Laura, or Chantal (or some C- grade manager from US) give her an exotic title and relocate to Canada to manage and put the finishing touches on whatever remains of Otto.
Has Otto been officially relocated to Milwaukee for production and development? I’ve also heard a rumor that Otto’s annual revenue is relatively low (under $20 million), raising questions about whether Rockwell Automation’s $700+ million purchase was a poor investment. It’s beginning to sound like another questionable financial decision similar to the PTC deal.
A lot of chatter in the office after the initial acquisition expected a turnout like this. Not specifically massive layoffs, but the general incompetence that comes in acquisitions like this.
Why the founders couldn't have foreseen this when practically everyone in engineering could leads me to believe they never really cared about the long-term vision of the company.
Disappointing to see when one of Canada's few remaining innovative startups sold off and gutted.
Internally there is no concrete plan either. Most departments are running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Hilarious incompetence and lack of foresight by everyone involved.
Well Otto and Clearpath (both were fairly sucestartups) are the textbook examples of companies being destroyed by an elephant bureaucracy and raw incompetence from RA executives.
I cannot think of one company that does better after it is acquired by ra. Tessas, Victorias, and alike are simply not equipped to grow these businesses.
Yes, they represent DEI, woke, women empowerment, charismatic leadership, modern way of thinking, market likes them, but they are simply not capable and cannot project influence over the high performing teams. They cannot even maintain thr status quo let alone grow the business: Simply not experienced to perform the actual business development work. No founder mindset.
Word salad, AI generated phrases, but no substance, etc.
They rise thru the ranks very quickly, reach the position of positional influence, but simply cannot grow any business.
American corporations are flooded with these types of leaders.
The layoffs are coming to Cambridge.
Confirmed. Hiring freeze on until at least Q3 fy26.
The layoffs at Cambridge are unavoidable
Sadly. The Cam requires major re org not necessarily RIF.
Heard rumors Cambridge is next on the chopping block… just around the AF time…or US thanksgiving time
A total of 52 engineering were let go from OTTO Motors and Clearpath robotics on Oct 8th by RW Automation.
Any news or rumor of marketing being moved to the US completely? I heard few years back they did that in Cambridge.
@k9m Thanks! Do you know if project management was also impacted? I heard there are multiple project teams under multiple heads.
@k73 every team lost somebody in eng and product
All Canadian remote jobs will be outsourced to India etc. with the exception of government jobs.
How many jobs were eliminated in Otto this week?
A friend of mine was also let go this week. It is crazy that engineering teams are also being impacted in this age of remote work. Any idea which other teams are impacted? I was looking to apply for a project manager job, but am having second thoughts.
A friend of my son was let go on Wednesday Oct. 8. There were many others laid off with severance packages. It would appear that the ownership will move the jobs out of Canada and to the U.S.
Someone should alert the local press so that they are exposed for destroying what was Canadian jobs.
20+ employees were let go yesterday in Otto. Probably more to come.
Otto Motors and Clearpath operations /production teams only moving to US?
What about marketing and product management teams?
@h91 isn't that obvious?
Otto Motors and Clearpath operations /production moving to US?
The Kitchener location will slowly rid itself from the builders and assemblers. Many roles will either go to US or overseas.
More cuts will lake take place at Otto especially the manufacturing. Likely the positions will be shifted elsewhere.
@281 it's incredibly obvious you grabbed this from ChatGPT. No one talks like this: "Many employees feel that....". You clearly copied that. Do you even work at Rockwell, or are you a layoff bot?
Similar to previous Rockwell acquisitions, it seems possible that during the acquisition process—when the deal was progressing and prospects for a Rockwell buyout looked strong—Otto may have increased employee salaries just before the acquisition was finalized. This pattern has reportedly occurred with other companies that Rockwell has purchased, resulting in Rockwell having to take on a significantly higher payroll after the acquisition is complete.
Let’s be candid—Blake and his senior leadership team often appear disconnected and more focused on pleasing the board to secure their year-end bonuses than on building a sustainable company culture. Many employees feel that Rockwell’s culture has deteriorated, with upper management prioritizing personal financial gain over the well-being of the broader workforce. As it stands, employee efforts often seem to contribute more to enriching top executives than to supporting those actually doing the work
Right! They bought in Oct/23.
Not November/23.
However Rockwell did the full transition this year in Jan/25.
As mentioned they bought and in less 6 months of fully taking over Clearpath Otto, Rockwell are doing layoffs?
Still doesn’t look good for Rockwell’s ongoing layoffs reputation.
There will be more coming.
@dn Jan 2025? No. Rockwell bought Clearpath November 2023.
If the US imposed tariffs continue to persist, the Mexico and Canada plants may see challenging times ahead. The layoffs are the absolute last resort
1/5 of cost? Sure. Also 1/5th of the quality of work, care, appreciation, respect, timeliness, loyalty..... Shall I continue
There is no better way to achive cost reductions than layoffs, automation, outsourcing. All high $ remote roles in NA can be outsourced to India at 1/5 the price!
Sad but true
Doesn’t look good for Rockwell’s ongoing lay offs reputation.
Especially since they bought and just took over (Clearpath Otto) on Jan 1, 2025.
In less than six months they are laying off people.
I feel this is only the first step for layoffs.
It’s a shame how Clearpath Otto was sold to only come to this.
What prompted these cuts? Manufacturing or office staff? OTTO motors only?
@OP the job cuts will take place all over RA. Cambridge and MKE locations are likely next for job cuts. I am due for retiremment in less than 6months and somewhat safe. 95 points