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OpenText won’t reopen half its offices after pandemic, amid restructuring and work-from-home success – The Globe and Mail

Waterloo, Ont.-based OpenText Corp. says that making its employees work from home during the pandemic has gone so well that it’s considering to close half its offices after the COVID-19 pandemic. 

One of the Toronto Stock Exchange’s biggest tech stocks, OpenText has a network of offices all over the world.

So why this shift?

  • The company is in the midst of a multiyear restructuring program and looking for costs to cut
  • With 95 per cent of its nearly 15,000 employees working remotely over the past two months, the company says it’s “maintained productivity” at usual levels 
  • OpenText said the shuttering would save the company between US$65 million and US$75 million a year

The company said in January that it would be restructuring its organization after its most recent acquisition, U.S. security software company Carbonite Inc. While it did not say how many employees would lose jobs, Chief executive officer Mark Barrenechea said at the time that some positions, such as outsourcing, would be centralized in Canada.

What will happen?

  • The company says it will close nearly half of its offices, mostly smaller ones, worldwide
  • Its corporate and country head offices, including in Waterloo, will remain open, among other offices
  • About 15 per cent of OpenText employees will be affected by this transformation

This news comes following the company’s latest earnings call when it reported results for its fiscal third quarter. Barrenechea warned that the pandemic, which began partway through the quarter, was “impacting overall demand.”

The company also said that on March 19, as the pandemic forced workplace shutdowns around the world, it drew US$600 million from its line of credit to invest in money market funds.

Pragya Sehgal
Pragya Sehgal
Born and raised in the capital city of India - Delhi - bounded by the river Yamuna on the west, Pragya has climbed the Himalayas, and survived medical professional stream in high school without becoming a patient or a doctor. Pragya now makes her home in Canada with her husband - a digital/online marketing fanatic who also loves to prepare delicious meals for her. When she isn’t working or writing around tech, she’s probably watching art films on Netflix, or wondering whether she should cut her hair short or not. Can be contacted at psehgal@itwc.ca or 647.695.3494.

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Jim Love, Chief Content Officer, IT World Canada

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