GTS will get hit hard again.
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It’s always on a Thursday Even if it’s a single person (Managers are literally mandated to never fire on a Friday, it’s true) In the past they would let you close out Qtrly business and then release the blade on the last Thursday of the 1st Month of the Qtr. But obviously we have seen that was not the case this last wave. Betting it was a toe dip and Thursday the 28th is the real death day. Good luck all
You are actually watching the new CEO restructure 4 different companies (GTS, GBS, Cognitive, and systems). Each has a different path to success and AK is pursuing all 4 aggressively. He took the biggest problem child and dealt with that first (GTS and it’s spinoff) It had no chance at success given its high labor costs and low profit margins. Now that they will be a stand alone, they should be able to compete more effectively. Remember size is everything when you are competing in a body shop market place.
GBS seems to be more of a bench management restructuring based around what industries IBM wants to play in. AK has already shown where he is focused Enterprise Fortune 500 companies
Cognitive seems to be a like for like replacement restructuring Redhat folks are replacing IBM folks My guess is this will net to a 75/25 plan For the folks who get replaced, 75% will be legacy IBM’ers and 25% legacy Redhatters. Iknow folks don’t want to hear this, but IBM spent 34 billion for a reason. That was to gain the Redhat strategy and fully embrace it into IBM’s enterprise customer set. You are now watching that happen.
Finally Systems needs to be addressed. No plan seems to be on the table yet, but Legacy Power has certainly taken the majority of layoffs so far. Could an enterprise strategy be in the works? IBM keeps most of what the Fortune 500 customers have installed (mainframe, dsxxxx, and enterprise power boxes) and divorces the rest. That would mean the restructuring would be based around IBM harvesting IP, at the expense of giving up the scaleout marketplace and manufacturing infrastructure. That plan does seem to favor a Hybrid cloud play doesn’t it.
Time will tell
You are correct, this is not normal.
This is a new CEO starting his reign alone (sans Ginni), swapping out old leaders whose time has come for a new set of his liking and changing IBM's course. This is not a regular RA, this is a pivot for IBM alongside a Newco spin-off and big reorg.
See, that sort of response is constructive. If you say that you heard it from management, or from a friend who works in so and so. That is helpful. Has IBM changed their layoff approach. I've been here for 5 years, and it always seemed that it was the last Thursday of each quarter. Now it seems an RA can happen whenever they feel like it.
OK Oddblock. You are correct however some of us have friends in high places who won't disclose anything other than vague information like "by 31 Jan". Would you rather be blindsided, or brace yourself for possible RA?
Since when are layoffs "announced"? These useless "can confirm!" comments are not helping anyone, given that they are clearly specific to certain groups within certain BUs. Layoffs happen in small pockets, people. Nobody posting here knows as much as they say they do. The people who know things at that level are under a million NDAs and aren't stupid enough to post dates on a public website.
I can confirm what the mate says below v
Expect more layoffs to be announced through Jan 25. It is far from being over.
As a former IBMer, I can attest life is better outside Big Blue's caustic environment. Relax. Drink some Kool-Aid. You will be happier after IBM.
Which location/BU?
Yes, got RAed today... Was really a big surprise because not having been called Thursday I thought I was safe... nope!!
Friday is usually not a day for RA's but I've read some replies that indicate there was more today.