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>My company, Synon, has been acquired by Sterling Software. So, they say
>that layoffs are inevitable, but are trying to convince us that
>engineering (of which the writers are a part) is pretty safe. But I'm
>wondering how documentation departments usually fare in mergers and
>acquisitions. Anybody out there been through this, before?
>
The answer to "How safe am I?" likely depends on several factors:
- engineering overlap between the firms. If you're documenting applications that compete with those of your purchaser, you're less secure. On the other hand, if you work on profitable, complementary or non-competing products, your more secure.
- corporate structure. If the purchasing company already manages remote engineering (including doc'n) groups, then they may be more comfortable keeping this arrangement.
- cost. If your site has a short-term lease and is close (whatever that means) to a purchaser site, the purchaser may be more willing to close your facility. This also applies if you have a long-term facility lease but the market (and the lease) make subletting feasible.
The main factor is usually engineering. If the programmers are safe, you're likely to be, too, particularly if the purchaser doesn't have anyone up to speed on your products or have staff and time available to come up to speed.
