Thread regarding Cengage layoffs

Successful companies brag about how great their culture is. If things go south, that awesome culture somehow vanishes. It boils down to one thing. It's fun to work for a winner. No amount of culture can fix a cr-ppy business model or a business whose best days are long in the past. Cengage has been a dying entity for close to 20 years.

I also heard something similar along the line of Content Lead retention. I did notice that one the CMs who was terminated last week was a Content Lead of a science course. I even double checked it to make sure that was correct. Not sure what to think of that!

Even current content leads maybe on the chopping block.

Apparently, only the Content Leads will be retained past Jan 1. All other CM roles will be eliminated between now and the end of the year. The remaining Content Leads will just manage CPMs after that. It's ridiculous and a terrible plan in terms of the long term viability of the company, but leadership doesn't care. They are just trying to attain profit margins that will please the private equity investors. With all due respect to the previous commentator on this thread, your outrage means nothing to them. They have goals to meet and ambitions to satisfy, and if the company needs to be eviscerated for them to meet those goals and satisfy those ambitions, then so be it.

The notion that this company cares what employees think or that leadership is invested in creating a positive culture for employees is laughable. First Fridays and Engagement Surveys and Goal Setting and Wellness Days (or what's left of them) are nothing more than tools used to prop up the internal PR smokescreen. They aim to keep you just distracted enough by that feel-good nonsense that you continue toiling until such a time as they see fit to let you go. The truth hurts, but there it is: they are here to do business, not safeguard your feelings.

@2nhf+1tF5gu0c is spot on.

What would a private equity do to strip mine a company for a quick sale?

Here are some of the things that Chatgpt said:

1. Leveraged Buyout (LBO)

PE firms acquire companies through leveraged buyouts, where they use a mix of their own capital and significant amounts of borrowed money. The debt used to finance the acquisition is often placed on the acquired company's balance sheet, rather than the PE firm's, increasing the company's financial burden

2. Asset Stripping

Once the acquisition is complete, PE firms often sell off valuable assets of the acquired company. This can include real estate, equipment, or other high-value items. The proceeds from these sales are used to pay down acquisition debt or to distribute dividends to the PE firm and its investors

3. Cost Cutting

PE firms frequently implement aggressive cost-cutting measures. This can involve laying off employees, reducing wages and benefits, and cutting back on research and development or other operational expenses. These measures are aimed at improving short-term profitability, often at the expense of long-term growth and stability

5. Restructuring and Rebranding

PE firms might restructure the company, streamline operations, and rebrand it to make it more attractive to potential buyers. This can involve changing management, altering business strategies, or even merging the company with other entities in the PE firm's portfolio

• Required Master’s Degree + 10 Years Experience

• Pay starts at $11 an hour

• Benefits after a year

• Must work in the office, in a pricey city

• Five Rounds of Unpaid Interviews

• Rock Star Mentality! Work for Free off the Clock!

• We’re a Family

• Have your Job shipped overseas three months later

Greetings,

Let me be clear, Cengage continues to not give a sh-t about our employees and solely focus on how to make more money for our global stakeholders.

Full Stop!

Greetings,

Let me be clear, Cengage continues to innovate, scale, and create global initiatives to build brand awareness, diversity, and value for our global stakeholders.

Full Stop!

But don’t forget, Project Horizon is over! /s

@irg+1tF5gu0c Private equity is strip mining the company for a quick sale. Short sighted solutions are the point. They don't care about employees or their morale. I don't understand how anyone is unable to see what's happening by now.

I doubt employees are honest when they respond to the Engagement Survey - not if they want to keep their jobs for as long as possible. It should be 1/5, but it won’t be. The Engagement Survey doesn’t mean anything anyway. It’s all performative. They pretend they care and then lay people off.

It's funny how the mid-year engagement survey went out today. The scores should be mostly 1/5, 1 being very ineffective.

I am outraged and strongly disagree with the recent layoffs. This decision is not only unjust but also short-sighted and devastating to the affected employees.

How could they so callously axe dedicated colleagues without exploring alternative solutions? This move will not only harm the morale of the remaining staff but also undermine the trust and loyalty that are essential to my team's success.

This is bullsh-t and I demand a reconsideration of this ill-conceived decision and expect a more thoughtful approach to addressing any challenges we face.

10 CMs were let go today

Heard that some DPMs have also been affected. DPM work also going to CPI/CPM.

Can someone give a number of how many CMs were let go?

This makes sense. Cengage has been hiring 1-2 CPMs every single week since the beginning of this year.

If you go to internal sharepoint "new hire" list, you'll see that. If I were a CM, I'd be aggressively applying for jobs.