[Jobs] IBM Possibly Prepping For the Largest Ever Corporate Layoff

Wow. I know a lot of IBM'ers in Austin. I hope they avoid the cut...but it's going to be tough when 1/4 is going.

 

It seems like IBM does these layoffs all the time.

 

Ouch, that's crazy.

 

I don't see it happening at this scale. I see a big layoff, but not at that scale. They already laid off 10's of thousand in India but that was after growing to over 100K in less than 10 years.

 

"Fortunately" it's a global company, so the pain will hopefully be somewhat evenly distributed. Beyond their IT consulting, IBM does a lot of corporate services stuff for energy companies like basic accounting and billing, I wonder how much of this is tied to that along with some kind of long-term large scale industry correction. I guess I'd naively hope this much loose talent spawns some new startups; but more likely it will just create a viable case study for other companies looking to emulate it. Gettin' rough.

 

i laugh eevrytime I read about these hardware companies talk about stuff other than their core business. it's like they always forget that no matter how fancy and advanced things get, YOU STILL NEED A FRIGGING MACHINE of some sort in order to do the work. Think Apple is where it's at because they decided hardware is not worth anything?

 

In before the "I don't work at IBM so LOL @ all those jobless assholes" train leaves the station.

 

Maybe I'm just a bad person, but I can't help but feel a bit smug when I see reports of thousands of layoffs at IBM.

 

I work with IBM on a daily basis, and the part of that company I have experience with is a total trainwreck and definitely needs a re-org.

 

I see a lot of fluff from IBM around their Watson for healthcare. I have yet to see something there that actually works and provides practical benefits.

 

IBM's culture is pretty much bankrupt. My wife has an aunt who was laid off there after 15 years or so. Lots of old IBMers have been around for 15-20 years, hanging on through connections to middle managers and legacy projects for products that refuse to die. IBM pays so well that none of these people can afford to leave, but it works them like dogs and has been slowly trimming the heard with rolling layoffs for over a decade.

Tech is great, until you start getting gray hair and lose your six-figure job and can't get on anywhere else for half your former salary. Scary stuff.

 

Hey breh. Don't be a bitter babby. Just because you applied to work at IBM over ten times despite having various "skills" doesn't make you qualified for the job.

 

Thanks Obama.

 

Blame tmac

 

I went through it with Compaq and then HP. I managed to survive it all until I left by my own choice. Problem I saw was a lot of GOOD people let go and a lot of idiots protected by long time friends in higher positions. On more than once occasion, the decision of who to let go was made by friendship loyalty instead of the better employee.

Hate to see anyone go through this.

 

Problem is, business runs on nepotism, especially in the South. You can't get away from it, and it can benefit you. It's all part of the game.

 

Disclaimer, I work for Big Blue.

Not to that scale, that is what would have been newsworthy. It looks like they are pushing back on the number cited in the initial report.

Not sure why people losing their jobs (at IBM or elsewhere) is a reason to be smug, but different strokes for different folks, I suppose.

I'm sorry to hear that, but unfortunately, it isn't atypical (to IBM or other companies). To compete with other vendors for service contracts, they have to include more off-shore or near-shore resources, and that ultimately ends up impacting the project from a skills and delivery perspective. It is a vicious cycle, and in the end, it is the client and the client team that ends up suffering the most.

Healthcare is one area where there is a pretty good story, and I hope that continues as it is a vertical where society could benefit greatly with lowering of costs and improvement in the quality of care delivered for better outcomes.

Again, this will come off as biased since I work for IBM, but the problems that exist at a micro level at IBM exist in some form or another elsewhere on a macro level. It doesn't justify the failure to deliver a project on-time and on-budget, but I think these issues are not IBM-specific in nature. Not sure where it will all end up, but a lot of IBMers are caught in this struggle of serving our clients while dealing with the internal changes and how they impact the day-to-day aspects of our job. I wonder how it is at other places - would love to get some feedback on if this is just an IBM issue.

 

I'm not. Just making fun of someone who made a similar comment about O&G people losing their jobs.

 

What you're seeing at IBM is the same thing that happens (is happening) at HP and Dell. I am a 12yr veteran of compaq/hp and have (and had) several friends who worked for Dell, IBM( (& now for Lenovo). From talking with them over the years, we all determined that they are all the same, just different shades of blue. That's one reason I left HP for a company that is different. I could have left for Dell in Austin at any time, as many of my friends did and later found out they were experiencing the same aggravations and problems that plague HP.