diff --git a/fdb-record-layer-core/src/main/java/com/apple/foundationdb/record/provider/foundationdb/IndexingBase.java b/fdb-record-layer-core/src/main/java/com/apple/foundationdb/record/provider/foundationdb/IndexingBase.java
index 5095076d57..b23228f837 100644
--- a/fdb-record-layer-core/src/main/java/com/apple/foundationdb/record/provider/foundationdb/IndexingBase.java
+++ b/fdb-record-layer-core/src/main/java/com/apple/foundationdb/record/provider/foundationdb/IndexingBase.java
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@
 
 package com.apple.foundationdb.record.provider.foundationdb;
 
-import com.apple.foundationdb.FDBError;
 import com.apple.foundationdb.FDBException;
 import com.apple.foundationdb.MutationType;
 import com.apple.foundationdb.annotation.API;
@@ -59,7 +58,6 @@
 import java.time.DateTimeException;
 import java.time.Instant;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
-import java.util.Arrays;
 import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.HashSet;
@@ -1213,22 +1211,6 @@ protected static <T> T findException(@Nullable Throwable ex, Class<T> classT) {
         }
         return null;
     }
-
-    protected static boolean shouldLessenWork(@Nullable FDBException ex) {
-        // These error codes represent a list of errors that can occur if there is too much work to be done
-        // in a single transaction.
-        if (ex == null) {
-            return false;
-        }
-        final Set<Integer> lessenWorkCodes = new HashSet<>(Arrays.asList(
-                FDBError.TIMED_OUT.code(),
-                FDBError.TRANSACTION_TOO_OLD.code(),
-                FDBError.NOT_COMMITTED.code(),
-                FDBError.TRANSACTION_TIMED_OUT.code(),
-                FDBError.COMMIT_READ_INCOMPLETE.code(),
-                FDBError.TRANSACTION_TOO_LARGE.code()));
-        return lessenWorkCodes.contains(ex.getCode());
-    }
 }
 
 
diff --git a/fdb-record-layer-core/src/main/java/com/apple/foundationdb/record/provider/foundationdb/IndexingMerger.java b/fdb-record-layer-core/src/main/java/com/apple/foundationdb/record/provider/foundationdb/IndexingMerger.java
index b3a4cb6dc6..ae873586e0 100644
--- a/fdb-record-layer-core/src/main/java/com/apple/foundationdb/record/provider/foundationdb/IndexingMerger.java
+++ b/fdb-record-layer-core/src/main/java/com/apple/foundationdb/record/provider/foundationdb/IndexingMerger.java
@@ -148,9 +148,8 @@ private CompletableFuture<Boolean> handleFailure(final IndexDeferredMaintenanceC
         // merges. Not perfect, but as long as it's rare the impact should be minimal.
 
         mergeControl.mergeHadFailed(); // report to adjust stats
-        final FDBException ex = IndexingBase.findException(e, FDBException.class);
         final IndexDeferredMaintenanceControl.LastStep lastStep = mergeControl.getLastStep();
-        if (!IndexingBase.shouldLessenWork(ex)) {
+        if (shouldAbort(e)) {
             giveUpMerging(mergeControl, e);
         }
         switch (lastStep) {
@@ -175,6 +174,24 @@ private CompletableFuture<Boolean> handleFailure(final IndexDeferredMaintenanceC
         return AsyncUtil.READY_TRUE; // and retry
     }
 
+    private boolean shouldAbort(@Nullable Throwable e) {
+        if (e == null) {
+            return true;
+        }
+        // Expecting AsyncToSyncTimeoutException or an instance of TimeoutException. However, cannot
+        // refer to AsyncToSyncTimeoutException without creating a lucene dependency
+        // TODO: remove this kludge
+        if (e.getClass().getCanonicalName().contains("Timeout") ) {
+            return false;
+        }
+        final FDBException ex = IndexingBase.findException(e, FDBException.class);
+        if (ex == null) {
+            return true;
+        }
+        // TODO: return true if the exception is clearly not retriable
+        return false;
+    }
+
     private void handleRepartitioningFailure(final IndexDeferredMaintenanceControl mergeControl, Throwable e) {
         repartitionDocumentCount = mergeControl.getRepartitionDocumentCount();
         if (repartitionDocumentCount == -1) {
diff --git a/fdb-record-layer-core/src/main/java/com/apple/foundationdb/record/provider/foundationdb/IndexingThrottle.java b/fdb-record-layer-core/src/main/java/com/apple/foundationdb/record/provider/foundationdb/IndexingThrottle.java
index c9e76ee1ef..eecb6ca7db 100644
--- a/fdb-record-layer-core/src/main/java/com/apple/foundationdb/record/provider/foundationdb/IndexingThrottle.java
+++ b/fdb-record-layer-core/src/main/java/com/apple/foundationdb/record/provider/foundationdb/IndexingThrottle.java
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 
 package com.apple.foundationdb.record.provider.foundationdb;
 
+import com.apple.foundationdb.FDBError;
 import com.apple.foundationdb.FDBException;
 import com.apple.foundationdb.annotation.API;
 import com.apple.foundationdb.async.AsyncUtil;
@@ -133,7 +134,7 @@ boolean mayRetryAfterHandlingException(@Nullable FDBException fdbException,
                                                @Nullable List<Object> additionalLogMessageKeyValues,
                                                int currTries,
                                                final boolean adjustLimits) {
-            if (currTries >= common.config.getMaxRetries() || !IndexingBase.shouldLessenWork(fdbException)) {
+            if (currTries >= common.config.getMaxRetries() || !shouldLessenWork(fdbException)) {
                 // Here: should not retry or no more retries. There is no real need to handle limits.
                 return false;
             }
@@ -144,6 +145,22 @@ boolean mayRetryAfterHandlingException(@Nullable FDBException fdbException,
             return true;
         }
 
+        private static boolean shouldLessenWork(@Nullable FDBException ex) {
+            // These error codes represent a list of errors that can occur if there is too much work to be done
+            // in a single transaction.
+            if (ex == null) {
+                return false;
+            }
+            final Set<Integer> lessenWorkCodes = new HashSet<>(Arrays.asList(
+                    FDBError.TIMED_OUT.code(),
+                    FDBError.TRANSACTION_TOO_OLD.code(),
+                    FDBError.NOT_COMMITTED.code(),
+                    FDBError.TRANSACTION_TIMED_OUT.code(),
+                    FDBError.COMMIT_READ_INCOMPLETE.code(),
+                    FDBError.TRANSACTION_TOO_LARGE.code()));
+            return lessenWorkCodes.contains(ex.getCode());
+        }
+
         void decreaseLimit(@Nonnull FDBException fdbException,
                            @Nullable List<Object> additionalLogMessageKeyValues) {
             // TODO: decrease the limit only for certain errors