IBM Employees Fear Company Will Begin Up To 13,000 Layoffs Tomorrow

Business Insider ^ | 02/25/2014 | Julie Bort

[SeekAndFind]

IBM’s next round of layoffs are expected to begin on Wednesday, Feb. 26, according to a union for IBM employees.

The internal code name for this round of cuts is “Project Apollo,” sources told the union, Alliance@IBM on an online forum where those who work for IBM can post comments about what’s going on inside the company.

No one knows exactly how many people IBM will cut as part of its 2014 “workforce rebalancing.” IBM won’t comment on the number of employees affected but CFO Martin Schroeter did say that IBM plans to spend $US1 billion on 2014′s cuts, “plus or minus $US100 million,” (the same as it spent in 2013) and that the layoff would occur in the first quarter.

Wall Street analyst Toni Sacconaghi, from Bernstein Research, said in a note to investors that he estimates IBM will cut “at least 13,000 heads” worldwide, as reported by Barron’s Tiernan Ray. Sacconaghi figures it costs IBM about $US70,000 to let an employee go, reports The Poughkeepsie Journal’s Dan D’Ambrosio.

Earlier this month, IBM reportedly let over 1,200 workers go in Europe And India. Alliance@IBM, which keeps an informal tally of U.S. employee headcounts, believes that IBM reduced its U.S. workforce by over 2,800 workers in 2013.

[caver]

I’ve used it for years but hear that we will be going to Outlook later this year.

[The Working Man]

My wife just got the news, She’s just shy of 29 years with IBM and is part of the Layoffs. Her Dept. manager called to tell her the news. When asked how bad it was all he would say, it’s bad... real bad. Lots of key employees being let go and they are trying to get India to fill the job positions.

The question of course is why? No one really knows other than IBM is trying to become Leaner and Meaner. My guess is Obamacare and releasing the older employees so as to avoid retirement costs into the future.