Wonderful company and people, but continuous layoffs - Sr. Computer Specialist Cengage Employee Review

3.0
Sep 4, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

-People are amazing across the company -Flexible work with remote/office (now only KY office remains) -Salary was decent -Work/life balance excellent, no pressure to work extra/odd hours, good amount of PTO/sick time (including wellness week off in December) -Great employee resource groups and local events

Cons

I took on responsibilities beyond my job title, but was never given a title change/promotion to reflect that. Over the past 3 years, Cengage has had an investor group making suggestions/demands to cut expenses across the company to improve profits. It was given the euphemism "Project Horizon" and every few months there were more layoffs across most departments, sometimes entire teams. No reason was given to who it affected, many times it was key people with unique knowledge in systems, so those left had a harder time. I was in the latest layoff affecting IT, which got rid of half the remaining desktop support staff. Those still there are going to be overworked and not be able to provide the same level of superior support we were known for, so productivity for everyone will take a hit. Plus, many employees just have this feeling of "when will I be next to go"? The leadership team would try to quell fears by saying the major restructuring is done, but then there always seemed to be justification for more a few months later. It's just not a good environment to be in. I loved so many things about working here, especially the amazing people, but the higher ups just do not value IT support like they used to.

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Cengage Response
8mo
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and for your more than 10 years with Cengage Group. We’ve recently undergone a significant transformation, and as part of our culture of continuous improvement, we’re focused on driving profitability, efficiency, and simplicity. While this has included difficult decisions—such as layoffs and changes to team structures—we believe these steps are necessary to reduce complexity and strengthen the business long term. We recognize that change can create added pressure on remaining staff in periods of transition, and we remain committed to supporting our teams. IT continues to be a critical part of our operations, and a team that is also focused on simplifying, enabling and adapting. I appreciate your candid feedback and wish you all the best in your next chapter. Best, Morgan Wolbe, Executive Vice President, Global Operations and Chief Transformation Officer

Explore other reviews about Cengage

3.0
Jun 4, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Company has some interesting approaches to the market and in the past they seemed value employees. There are some good employees there and there was, in the past, visionary leadership, but the people with the vision and leadership skills left the company a few years ago.

Cons

The company actively de-values employees. They had a project they called "Project Horizon" where they told all employees they needed to cut costs, so the company was going to have multiple layoffs over 3-5 years - but nobody was allowed to know when, where, or why - - just one day large swaths of people would be gone. That hung over everyone's heads - for years, and is indicative of how Cengage values employees - it doesn't. Everything is about trying to secure new funding and prepare for an IPO, so they stopped investing significantly in the products about 3 years ago and that's about when they stopped acting like they cared about employee wellness as well.

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