Oh, there will be more layoffs in the U.S. Likely in March or April.
The people who understand our products, and our customers needs are begin let go, and replaced with Indian CDK'ers, who are nice people, but notoriously slow and inaccurate with their work and who do not understand to the same level as previous U.S. engineers. CDK is also hiring level 1 and 2 engineers and others, because they do not value expertise, they value cheap labor.
I think it is amusing when some new people come in and say 'Why don't we just tear it all down and rebuild it simpler" or 'let's create a new single DMS for global market'. You don't think that hasn't been attempted in our 40 year history? It is cute when young, new employees talk about making our software as simple as an iPhone app. Let me explain why that can't happen or why our at least not anytime soon, nor a global DMS is possible.
Our 12,000 or so customers do not do things in a standard fashion. Running an auto dealership isn't like operating the corner store. Over the years, our software has gorwn complex because the business needs of our customers is complex, and we have fashioned our applications to their similar, but different business practices. We are paying the price for years of bowing to their every need, and created bloated, complicated software as a result. We cannot force or convince them to change how they do business to accomodate our software, because they will go to our competitors who have started simple in teh beginning, which gives them an advantage.
Tearing down and Rebuilding our software DMS from scratch means alienating thousands of customers who all will go elsewhere for their DMS and means you will likely lose your job. Same story with a global, single DMS. The tax rules across states is complicated, let alone across countries. You want code bloat? Create a global DMS. Or convince governments of the world to do things they way we want them to. It is almost funny. No wonder it is relatively new, and inexperienced people driving this effort. Like the latest front office single dashboard, 'make it like iOS' debacle that cost the company over $40 million and many, many jobs these efforts will likely fail as well. THere needs to be some intelligence and understanding in decisiion makeing leadership, and all of those people have been let go are leaving. This is why people are down on CDK and have no confidence.