IBM May Cut Thousands of Jobs, Employee Group Says

[Pale Blue Dot]

Source: Bloomberg

Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) -- International Business Machines Corp., the biggest technology employer, may cut thousands of jobs this month amid the global economic slowdown, according to the employee group Alliance for IBM.

Employees have been hearing that layoffs will take place in late January, said Lee Conrad, national coordinator of the Alliance, an organization seeking union recognition at Armonk, New York-based IBM. The size of the reduction may be larger than those in the past few years, he said today in an interview.

“Generally they go in batches of a couple hundred here and a couple hundred there,” Conrad said.

A post on the Alliance’s Web site said the company may cut 16,000 jobs, which would top the 15,600 eliminated by Chief Executive Officer Sam Palmisano in 2002. The worldwide slump has tightened companies’ technology budgets and IBM may report a 1.6 percent drop in sales last quarter to $28.4 billion, based on the average analyst estimate.

“There’s likely to be production cutbacks at IBM,” said Timothy Ghriskey, chief investment officer at Solaris Asset Management LLC in Bedford Hills, New York. “There will be job cuts. For now, reducing the workforce to benefit the viability and competitiveness of the company makes sense.”

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aXFIXifapQeE

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This, combined with Alcoa's news, represents 31,000 job losses announced in the past hour.

[The_Casual_Observer]

1. IBM does this during every recession, there was a huge layoff

in 1992-1991.

[sinkingfeeling]

9. Yes there was. The first in IBM's history.

[jody]

2. Will most job cuts be in the US so when sales recover jobs can be added overseas? n/t

[Deja Q]

4. another so-called "jobless recovery"; once a rarity and now commonplace.

Bizarre.

[OhioChick]

5. You got it. n/t

[Veruca Salt]

13. That's exactly what's killing everything!

They take our jobs and ship them overseas and then expect us to STILL be able to buy their stuff! Sorry, doesn't work that way and it's why the economy is in the shitter.

[bluestateguy]

3. This needs to stop

President Obama should make patriotic appeals to companies to freeze all layoffs, as they hurt the economy.

[LiberalinNC]

6. My husband warned me about this weeks ago...he's an IBMer...keepin' fingers

crossed he's job is safe. IBM is firing US employees to hire folks in India...pisses us off!!! Today's IBM Is NOT my father's IBM! (Dad worked for IBM for close to 40 years...the old IBM would never treat their employees this badly!)

[Dr.Phool]

7. The hits just keep coming.

My BIL retired from IBM as it's Chief Auditor a few years ago.

[OutNow]

8. "To benefit the viability and competitiveness of the company" - Right!!

Blah Blah Blah. I've seen firings (of course they use the nice terms like downsizing or layoffs) like this for over 10 years at IBM. For some strange reason it has always hit those close to retirement just before they are eligible for a full pension. You might believe that those old folks just can't handle the hours and stress anymore so they should lose their jobs. But recently, since most of the over 50 employees are now gone, the firings include lots of people with 4 years; just before they become vested in the current retirement plan. IBM is now a crazy place to work, where hard work and dedication may lead to a large bonus and promotion and that makes you a higher cost employee that is targeted when the next cost reduction cycle hits in a year or two. Lesson - keep a low profile, any visibility is bad visibility.

Circuit City did a similar thing when they fired all their high cost (i.e. knowledgeable) employees and kept all their new lower cost employees. How did that work out anyway?

[sinkingfeeling]

10. I was number 14,376 in Sam's layoff of 2002. Forunately, I was able to 'bridge' to my retirement.

[maseman]

11. I guess the good news is this

When it comes to technology a company cannot survive very long if they have old outdated computers that are falling apart. My company usually replaces about 1/2 of the people's laptops (for those who have them) every two years. Last year they decided not to replace them. By mid year mine was literally falling apart. The battery lasted about 12 minutes, my memory was nearly out, my cd rom drive door was missing and the screen was cracked. They bought me a new one.

I spoke with our IT manager today and he said everyone will get a new laptop in 2009. A computer, hardware and software are so vital to a company that they will only be able to go so long without. It is too bad companies like IBM have to spring-board in labor. Times are good they probably employ too many and when times are bad they probably lay off too many.

[Azlady]

12. 31,000 jobs in one hour, gone....

I would not wish on anyone what we have gone through the last 2 years, I hope most of these employees are able to retire, verses having to find a job, I know most retirement funds are wiped in half....but at least it is something. The bleeding of our jobs must stop.

[deadmessengers]

14. I was laid off from IBM back in July.

I, along with about 180 others in my division, were hit last year. Most (but not all) folks found other jobs internally within IBM, the majority of which involved pay cuts of around 10%. I turned down a few offers and found work elsewhere, figuring that this wasn't the last time they'd start cutting heads. Now, my friends still over there are telling me that they're just shoveling every job they can over to India, Vietnam, and Russia.

With that having been said, I have a LOT of trouble taking anything that Alliance For IBM says seriously - those people are dumber than a bag of hammers. If there's one thing that technology workers absolutely hate, across the board, it's spam. So, how did they try to organize IBMers? Spam, of course. I can't tell you how many times they spammed internal employee mailing lists while I was over there - it was happening at least once a week for a while. Spam for a labor cause is still spam, and I would no more take them seriously than I would the "widows of deposed African presidents" who have eleventy million dollars for me if I would just send them my bank account number.

If a legitimate labor group would come in there and use less-sleazy methods of organizing, I think people would be receptive to their message. But spammers are generally considered inherently disreputable among tech workers, and Alliance for IBM pretty much shot themselves in the foot, the ankle, the knee, and they're working their way up from there every time they send out another spam blast.

[CoffeeCat]

15. My husband's boss was fired today...

...so I guess that makes it 31,001 job losses in the past hour.

When your husband's boss is fired (and he did nothing wrong...it was a cost-cutting move), it becomes a bit
more scary.

[lapfog_1]

16. They already laid off 600 back in mid October.

not employees, but contractors.

I know, I was one of that group of about 600.

No notice... just a phone call one night telling me to not go to work tomorrow, but to show up at the contractors office to turn in my laptop, keys, badge, etc. They would have a schedule when I could clear out my office.

Wasn't even paid for the desk clearing and transition of projects day.