CU sunk this ship. Wasn’t vetted, no one could give a straight answer on the numbers supporting it, they knew it would cannibalize business, royalties were already a mess and no one even knew the impact CU would have on royalties (and that’s our biggest expense,) yet they still rolled it out! Bless their hearts though because they sure tried to convince everyone it was working.... oh wait, they wouldn’t let anyone see the true numbers in DW and tried to use activations as a measure to try to convince everyone it was a success. The little people were not fooled. This was all done without buy in from finance because finance would have seen right through it! Shysters and used car salesmen (sorry) put CU together and every single one of them should be sacrificed at the altar of every hardworking person who will lose their job over this debacle! The people at Cengage did not deserve this!
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MH kept paying himself and his C-level execs big bonuses while everyone else was getting 1% merit increases and no bonuses because "we didn't make our number."
The writing has been on the wall for many of us...it has just taken varying levels of time to get there. That's understandable. However, it should be crystal clear to everyone at Cengage that the business is done. Finished. Over. I don't care if you're a packer in the warehouse or a C-level exec....it's only a matter of time before the company is liquidated, chopped up into pieces and shut down. If you don't get cut in this round, great....use that time and put all your energy and efforts into finding employment elsewhere. This is a great time to get out and into a different job. The job market is still hot and companies struggle to find qualified candidates. If you were one of the "unlucky" ones, take comfort in the fact that you got a head start on everyone else. It's just a matter time of time for everyone else.
Compound interest is the most powerful force in the world. lol They will never climb out from under their debt.
@11LQdWyr-1gle LOL, I don't think you get it. There IS no money. That's the whole point - its why these layoffs happen so often. Did you know that last quarter that company lost some $65 million dollars? In three months. Thanks to Cengage Unlimited and thanks to the lack of a print strategy. CEOs are always going to make their money, just as you expect to make yours. But when revenue shrinks, you have to cut back on costs. And unfortunately that means people. Yes, it stinks. But on the other hand we must recognize that Cengage employees have remained in place knowing that this company is known for frequent and large layoffs and reorgs. That is part of the risk you accept when you choose to remain with Cengage. Don't like it? Get out now, while the getting is good.
- S. You do know that none of this is going to end well, right? The debt load is just too massive for this company to ever crawl out from underneath the weight. Merge or no merge - continued reorgs or not - that debt is going to become due and the company is going to be completely unable to pay. That is the nature of private equity. The only question right now is if McGraw Hill will be take the fall too, or if they will remain apart from the Cengage disaster.
He is also the guy that stood there town hall after town hall bragging about how fruitful our efforts were; business is doing great .... we’re turning the ship. Keep pushing, we’re almost there. One more step and we’ll be there. Keep absorbing more work, keep giving me your undying faith ....First sign of trouble, he cut lose those same people that labored endlessly in the name of transformation. Michael, what did you give up before you took the livelihood away from dedicated employees? A large number of those who have never worked anywhere except at Cengage? Did you even pause to think what you are doing? What are you and your Ivy League grads / ex-BCG consultant team going to do with all the money?
Michael Hansen is the same guy who took mid and senior managers on a boondoggle to Kiawah shorty after he had just unloaded a couple billion $$ in Cengage bankruptcy...and enriched himself in the process.
He then had the nerve to tell everyone at the reception as they served lobster and high end booze that "investors knew what they were getting into" when investing in Cengage, before his arrival.
He then proceeded to gut the company over the next 5-6 years.
The business is dead. He's already made his money, as have the bankers. The rest of us are screwed.
Early November. The analysts need to ask if MH is going to step down in light of the embarrassing reversal from his trumpeting to them that CU is an “unmitigated success.”