IBM’s CEO confirmed that IBM will continue to transform to a SW enterprise company. IBM also confirmed that 2025 layoffs will be similar to 2024
6 replies (most recent on top)
I’m just glad that I didn’t sell my IBM stock after getting laid off two years ago…
Layoffs similar to 2024? That is bad news. There were massive cuts last year...
What SW products roll up to "Automation"? I know Hybrid Cloud is just Red Hat and Transaction Processing is the old Z stuff like IMS/CICS. Is Automation just a catch-all for everything else?
IBM is pursuing a low-risk but predictable strategy that meets the demands of its shareholders. So...don't look to IBM to develop that new AI or that quantum computer. Maybe there's something in a lab somewhere, but IBM sold off Watson Health after its failures. Instead, look for more SW company acquisitions like Red Hat...IBM won't develop new stuff on its own, so it will try to buy any company that seems to have a chance.
IBM died the moment it lost to Microsoft on OS/2, and it went downhill from Palmisano onwards.
IBM follows the BUNCH (IBM's competitors in the 1970s) into computing obscurity...it ceases to be a hardware vendor, and focuses on enterprise software and services.
What does this mean for the employees? It means that IBM will no longer pursue high risk and high reward strategies such as developing and marketing new computer technologies. Instead, IBM will continue on its path of pursuing the easy and predictable income from software sales and yearly license revenue.
IBM will continue to support legacy mainframe CPU development and the software that surrounds it, because all that stuff is needed to support its enterprise SW business. However, others on here have predicted that POWER, Storage, etc. will be put up for sale or divested somehow. That view is more likely to happen now.
Don't look for IBM to bring back any US jobs, Trump or no Trump. The only US jobs that will stay in this scenario are the "absolutely necessary" jobs...jobs requiring extensive technical expertise or experience, or customer-facing jobs where an obvious "American" appearance is demanded. Everything that is offshore now will remain offshore, and "back office" US jobs will continue to be eliminated.