Thread regarding IBM layoffs

as always there will be multiple rounds and we can make an assumption that this year is going to be just like any previous year. They just keep doing it. There should be nothing unusual about 2025 as it will be just another year. We can also make an assumption that the executive bonuses will be going up. so when you look at it, it’s business as usual

There will be a cycle of punches to the employees and when the employees stick it out, they'll give RA's out..

Creating a toxic environment is cheaper if they can shed a few folks.

Return to office, high average productivity levels, unrealistic expectations, etc.

Not even sure I would recognize chatter if I saw it, if I'm being honest, at the end of the day, everything being equal.

5eez The problem for IBM is most of their current revenue growth is coming from price increases, and not from customers beating a path to their door. Essentially customer growth is flat to slightly declining per year. (yep a mature marketplace Not any growth but not much shrinkage either) So what is a CFO to do? Cost take out via shifting the labor pool is something that hits the bottom line quickly. Another bottom line change that hits quickly is fooling around with the defined pension. The CFO is looking around in the couch cushions for any loose change as the traditional legacy business isn’t growing. The buy innovation strategy is growing because of IBM’s ability to act as a distribution channel for those products worldwide. NOTE for the buy innovation strategy to work and continue growing it must also encompass retiring the legacy costs (cost take out) of the HW and SW that it replaces. THUS the RA’s (eg pieces of the business they are exiting) Ask yourself if Hashicorp can replace a large percentage of on shore legacy employees due to modern AI SW, why wouldn’t you as the CFO pull that trigger? The RA of legacy costs drops to the bottom line instantly as the purchase cost is financed. Now for the cherry on top, why as the CFO wouldn’t you stand up the support staff of Hashicorp in India where labor costs are 1/3 that of elsewhere? It’s a win/win and it’s exactly what IBM is doing. They don’t need 6x the employees in India, as the modern SW is far more efficient. 1 for 1 replacement works just fine and india captures the employment base. The legacy customers don’t see a difference as the new Hashicorp SW is far more efficient vs the legacy.

To the poster who mentioned India is replacing US employees - I agree with you. After this recent layoff, I have seen an uptick of replacements from India and in teams that never had employees over there before. Probably the goal will be to replace via AI Automation and Indian headcount within the next few years except those engineers, sales or executives that they need in the US. This is happening and its happening fast.

Unless you're a newbie 2025 won't be any different from the past 20 years. Of course there will be RA's to payoff debts of companies brought and any new companies to try to catch up

100%

@3vsk+1voymOtN you must be new over here ? IBM layoffs are as certain as the sun will set tonight. At anytime, any team in any location can and will be affected.

Back in my day, "client-facing" was the buzzword of the day for those that kept their jobs. This meant sales, client executives, and some (but not all) consultants.

Everybody else could be replaced. Obviously, there were (are) a small number of developers, engineers and others who were critical to the business and therefore were kept. But in general, anyone who was "back office" was replaced as quickly as possible.

21st If what you say is true, then we should see an IBM worldwide employee headcount explosion given your 6-1 observation. IBM laid off 8-10k in Sept, and another 5-7k in March. So 13 - 17k in layoffs would result in IBM’s worldwide headcount going up 78 - 102k if all the layoffs are being replaced via India. Who thinks IBM’s annual report next year will say 400k worth of employees? The sound you are hearing is crickets because worldwide head count is flat. I’m not saying IBM isn’t growing India, but what I am saying is IBM is replacing NA and Northern Europe headcount on a one for one basis via India. You may not like it, but the facts generated by IBM’s annual report, and Indias foreign company employment numbers support it.

@cbz , you tried very hard to convince that for a US employee discarded, IBM hires only one headcount from India at a lower cost. That is not true based on my personal experience, the ratio is 6 headcount from India for 1 headcount from the US. The cost argument falls flat. Some US position based were held by people with decades of experience. How many employees from India are needed to fill those responsibilities?

Automation with new buzzwords, nothing new to see here

The strategy is all about cost take out, and nothing more. There is no secret deal with AK and (fill in the world leader). Workforce efficiencies have pretty much equalized around the world. (IBM hires 1 for 1 no matter who they replace) India much more than the rest of the world, made very large long term educational investments 20 years ago, and those investments are now yielding results. The evolution of the internet allowing workers to work from anywhere has also had a large impact. As such if IBM can replace workers 1 for 1 and hire the replacement for less, the cost savings drops to the bottom line. If you are the CFO, this practice prints money. Until worker replacement doesn’t print money, expect more of the same behavior. I expect this practice to settle at a NA head count in the 30k range and a Northern Europe headcount in the 25k range. There will always be on shore personnel (plants need to be filled, face to face needs to be done, govt and some essential accounts will want nationals assigned, SW will always be harvesting local innovation, etc etc), so there is only so far the CFO can push this before he has to find another money printing machine. Why do you think AK and the CFO constantly chat up AI. It’s the next money printer as it will replace repetitive tasks. It’s been slow off the mark, but the last year has shown it’s finding its feet. Just look at SW modernization

OP why do you post the exact same question “any chatter, news or rumors” regularly on so many different thelayoff.com sites? It’s weird.

It’s not rumors. It’s the fact. RA every quarter. All employees are just a number to the Executives. People will be put on the RA list when it’s needed to secure their bonuses and RSUs.

IBM does not lay people off. The term "layoff" implies an eventual return to the business when conditions improve. At IBM, "resource actions" are the polite and legally acceptable term for mass firings. These mass firings are involuntary in nature, and are permanent dismissals. There is no right of return, and in almost all cases the employees never return. Ever.

With that said...resource actions have been going on, every year, for over 35 years. Sometimes it happens every quarter. Sometimes just a few hundred, sometimes a few thousand. All gone.