Thread regarding IBM layoffs

As long as you don’t have some kind of contract you should be able to decline. Or resign on your first day.

@Village-Idiot, it's IBM's program of hiring college grads for different sectors. one of the utterly poor organized attempts to bring in the millennials to turn around the sinking ship. most of them leave for other jobs before their 2 year promotion to B7 or in now this case get RA'd before that could ever happen.

What is a CBDer??

I accepted IBM few days back and now I got a job offer from the government. After reading these stories, I'm so scared and confused. I have already signed all the documents for IBM and I don't know if I have any chance left because my position starts towards end of May.

What do you guys suggest and what would happen if I decline IBM at this point ?

CbD, 2nd year, on a project and RA'd - oh, we'll... it's my first job, will leave some scars but ready to move on. I've seen so much confusion and chaos on a project (SAP Financials) I can tell you that I will not be missing my project and this role. I've met a ton of smart and motivated people but I really question the direction... Peace out...

see active threads:

https://www.thelayoff.com/international-business-machines?sort=active

Ha ha... not only CBDers, i m band 9 and 2 yrs plus in ibm GBS also got RAed..... i dont see a pattern here. Working in watson group! Good luck finding new jobs.. move on

I am apart of the great ol' RA happening. 2nd year "CbDer" with promotion in August. Across the board I've been hearing those who have promo this year are being axed. So far I'm the only CbD designer I know of in iX in my office that is being RA'd. I talked with some 1st years with have been threaten to take a incredibly idiotic "training" course (that may only keep for another few months or so) or volunteer to quit with keeping on their sign on bonus money.

From what I heard from the person who met with me yesterday is that I'm being cut due to limited current design projects across the US, which is hilarious because 2 years ago I was hired because IBM had a "shortage" of designers then. It was foolish of me to raise my concerns to my manager starting last fall when I saw a downturn of work happening. Of course I was told that designers are always in demand and that we're safe from being RA'd. But I never believe sugar coated truths so I guess you can say I saw this one coming from 10 miles away. It s---s to be leaving some really great people behind but overall RMS IBM Titanic can rot on the ocean floor where it belongs.

they told me that they are doing it due to 'market and financial pressures' - whatever that means

That means that Ginni needs to subsidize her bonus after terrible 1Q results, so they're getting rid of random people.

Don't take it personally, though it sounds like you specifically aren't. That's more a general comment: Your name was on the short list and got selected from the spreadsheet. You're just a number (which is another issue for another thread), but it's nothing personal.

I got RA'd today - four years here at GBS. I was given a three months severance and they told me that they are doing it due to 'market and financial pressures' - whatever that means. I do not care, just get over with this. Needless to say, I am on a project, 100% client chargeable and I never had any performance issues. To top it off, I have three work-streams on project that no team member can complete, so they are losing direct tech/client related knowledge as well.

a good thread, we haven't had one in a while.

op, try to wrap it up quickly. try to find a job and take off asap. otherwise, just like everyone else is suggesting do your job in the best possible way and leave it at that. you never know when you'll cross paths with folks that are on the project.

i had a fallout with a manager on a project once, nothing major but it got rocky. i did a few moves, she did too, and we parted ways. anyhow, 10 years later i was in a sales position pitching to a client and she happened to be one of the decision makers. needless to say, we sold nothing there...

The writing is on the wall. IBM is dying, and rather than accept the fact that the executive committee has slowly ruined the company over the last 10 years, they’re firing the new hires/millennials (aka the exact type of people they need to keep recruiting!).

This will ruin their best recruiting pool, because what student would accept a job at IBM when their friend a year older than them tells them about being laid off after a year?

Ginni Rommetty should have been shown the door a year ago, if not longer. 5 years of continuous declining revenues and smaller profit margins, and the only reason they met their projections last quarter is because of the tax law changes and the release of the Z server. Obviously both of which were one time events. If I was you OP, I would continue working, but plan your transition off the project more aggressively than they might prefer, and find another job ASAP.

I agree with bjr, don't burn any bridges. Be proud of the work you are/were doing and leave with some class. Not that you owe the company anything, but you never know when you will need help with employment in the future. People will remember the way you left.

Buddy of mine in GBS not in consulting by design got the call. Apparently multiple people are going to be affected.

So let me see if I understand this. The very age group that's in the CBD ... Millennials that IBM has been targeting for some time now are being laid off ? All I can say is wow ! The sales pipeline / projections for the rest of 2018 must be far worse than what I've read on a few of the financial investment sites. For all you folks affected in the CBD please understand ... you have your whole career ahead of you. Rest assured your talent is needed by many other organizations who will welcome you with open arms.

Hey OP - is there some kind of a major RA happening at GBS?

This is the first post I am seeing here?

I guess since folks are helping you with answering your question you may help the rest of us learn about what's going on...

A 2nd year CbD should be able to do a fine analytical summary here...

@zgi it depends... if you drop a 'major' ball, you'll get fired... if you just do 's---y' work, you'll be fine but will be branded as appropriate... again, think about how small the world around us really is.

@SL258dn-bxa I really really appreciate that advice. Thank you.

@bjr is correct when she/he says:

you don’t want to burn any bridges

Keep that in mind. The same happened to me and my initial reaction was 'screw them' - I felt betrayed and I felt they did not deserve my contribution.

However, it's a small world, many folks you work with will likely end up in a number of companies you will be interacting with, so, keep that in mind. You have your own personal brand to take care off and make sure it's pristine as you get ready to jet. Do your work and take care of yourself. That's kind of all you need to do.

As a side note, keep your chin up, it'll be OK - you survived this mess, you learned along the way and you are ready to go...

@SL258dn-yoc My concern is that if I don't stay up to date with my work, they will then fire me for cause and then I won't get any severance. Is that a legitimate concern?

You owe them NOTHING. Circulate your resume and get out ASAP, because it's harder to find a job when you don't have one than when you do.

UPDATE: I have now heard of over 60 CBDers who have been laid off across every sector and across the country. Again, every single one of these CBDers is up for promotion July 1.

@SL258dn-nkn, go ahead and plan your exit. They'll treat you like sh-- even if they don't lay you off.

So everyone who I spoke with who is getting laid off is in an almost identical position as I am: they are all set for promotion in 3 months, or have just been promoted. We are guessing that they are only getting rid of people who are inline for promotion so they don't have to pay us more. The spooky thing is that they are still hiring new CBDers at the same rate, and so that suggests that they are just getting the cheap labor, and then when it comes time to promote, they can us and replace us with new CBDers.

My advice would be to balance ending your time professionally with looking out for yourself. Do the best you can in wrapping up your work - you don’t want to burn any bridges, and you may need a peer or client reference; but start looking for your next gig right away if your preference is to avoid a gap in employment.

Hi Anon,

I'm sorry -- I don't have any advice. As a newer CbDer (8 months), I was wondering whether your colleagues were also at the 2 year mark or newer? Any commonalities in service sector? Geographic location?

This has me spooked and I'll definitely keep in mind these layoffs moving forward in my (potentially short) time at IBM.

Thanks for any information you can pass on.