The VAR Guy reported last week that IBM's massive layoffs would begin this week — and this seems to be the case. Word surfaced last weekend that IBM is prepping to layoff up to 26 percent of its global workforce, or some 100,000 workers.
Many of these layoffs come on the heels of Lance Crosby's resignation. Crosby, the founder of SoftLayer, a company IBM acquired for around $2 billion in July 2013, said in a statement that he was taking some time off before pursuing his "next challenge."
Here's what you need to know about IBM's most recent round of layoffs. (Last Updated: 10:34 A.M. EST on 1/29/2015.)
IBM jobs in NY said to safe in restructuring. Will IBM workers in New York be spared? A source close to IBM and the state told Gannett's Albany Bureau that Big Blue isn't planning to cut jobs in the Empire State. It's important to note: Big Blue vowed to keep its jobs in New York in a $1.5 billion transaction last year with GlobalFoundries, a semiconductor manufacturing company.
IBM Strategy: Protect The Machine, Not The People. According to Bruce Kasanoff, a Forbes contributor who had IBM as a client during his days at Ogilvy & Mather: "IBM’s strategy is — and has always been — to hire as quickly as necessary to propel growth, and to let people go when the business shifts." His translation in simple terms: "Protect the machine, not the people."
IBM layoffs hit Columbia service center. IBM's service delivery center in Columbia, Missouri on Wednesday learned that there will be cuts. An IBM spokesperson confirmed the cuts at this particular facility but would not provide an answer as to how many. The Missouri Department of Economic Development's lastest numbers on how many employees are working at the Columbia location put the most recent count at 606. Big Blue said it planned to hire 800 people by the end of 2012.
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IBM Layoffs 2015: Employees Say Firings Have Begun. Big Blue's already cutting employees in Australia. An IBM employee based there has confirmed the layoffs in a posting:
“I can confirm first hand that significant cuts are being made in Melbourne, Australia at multiple levels from Project Executives, DPE, Managers, SDMs, SMEs across multiple accounts. It seems to be predominantly affecting permanent staff, but contractors seem to be affected too. There seems to be no pattern to the selection criteria, as seemly indispensable people in key/critical positions are being removed. What is becoming abundantly clear is the organisation is effective scuttling itself.”
The Alliance@IBM, a watchdog site for IBM employees, posted this message: “Employees reporting urgent requests from managers to meet one on one Wednesday 1/28/15,” adding that the "Resource Action" (RA) already is underway in Australia.
The IBM Axe Starts Chopping — Widespread Layoffs Begin. Take a look at the Alliance@IBM website, and you'll find plenty of commentary from employees being let go from the company. Many of these employees have been with Big Blue for more than 15 years. It appears that some of them are being let go for poor performance reviews.
IBM layoffs hit RTP, other U.S. sites. Layoffs have also been reported at IBM's Executive Briefing Center in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. The figures, however, are unclear. It's known that Big Blue has thousands of employees working at its RTP campus, but the exact number is unknown.
Rochester IBMers await word about possible layoffs. IBM employees located in Rochester, Minnesota have been awaiting to hear about any possible layoffs. Some Midwest employees have received work this week that their job will end. State officials said they have not been notified of any large layoffs, as is required by law.
200 IBM employees in Dubuque lose jobs. About 200 people at IBM in Dubuque, Iowa lost their jobs Wednesday, said Rick Dickinson, CEO of the Greater Dubuque Development Corporation. He also said he believes the location now employs somewhere around 600-700, half of the 1,300 jobs IBM promised to deliver to the city. According to him, IBM 1,300 jobs in fall of 2011, but it since then the number has been decreasing.
A year before the layoffs hit Intel in 2002 and 2014, Sr Management gave instructions to First Level Management to write up employees for anything.
Quite often items were simply “made up” just to meet quota of # of targeted employees.
During 2014, many managers decided to leave rather than implement these attacks on good hard working employees.
President Rene James is going to destroy Intel.
She is not qualified for the job and doesn’t know what she is doing.
So if the Dow Industrials is suppose to be a collection of multinationals, and the world economy is imploding, how is the DOW continuing to hold above its price supports? I just don't get the disconnect between Wall Street and reality.