Thread regarding IBM layoffs

@2mvv: no F'n doubt, word!

Most FLMs are there because they have no skill to hold any other job. Qualified managers have been quitting to get away from the grinder but the rest have nowhere else to go.

Honestly, why would anyone take a FLM role, knowing they have to RA people at some point? And why would anyone stay as a FLM after doing it once? Genuine question here. It seems like the worst possible role within IBM. You have the low standing of the worker bees in the eyes of upper management, while having the ----ty job of axing those same worker bees who you hopefully have personal connections with on some level (if you're a decent manager, at least).

-2kxn "So FLMs are kept in the dark AND their overheard conversations are gospel truth."

The overheard conversations with FLMS were about WHO is getting cut, not when. The statement about FLMs being kept in the dark was about them not being told WHEN the RA would happen. That seems to fit with what's been reported here so far.

So FLMs are kept in the dark AND their overheard conversations are gospel truth.

@2lge different areas have been rolling at different times

@2rqy FLMs get like 48 hours notice so they can set meeting times and work around client discussions and vacations

@2rqy Are all managers told to do it on the same day? It seems like that's not the case based on the staggering over the past couple weeks?

My manager said that they used to get the date of the RA in advance. Upper management has learned not to do that, because it leaks right out. That's why we're in this waiting game with no inside word, other than we know it's going to happen. They have the FLMs ready to go with names and the script, but won't tell them when to do it until the day of.

@1ous I have inside knowledge that I was at the top of the candidate list back in February, despite top performance reviews and having critical skills. And for whatever reason, that didn't happen for us. I have zero clue where I stand now, but from overhearing my manager I know that my name was still being tossed around. And I'm in development, not sales.

What I'm saying is that I'm well aware, trust me.

1Wkv that is the problem. Managers have let people know they were put on the list. This has dragged on since at list the PiP RA that was done. The first lists as I understand were submitted back in mid-February. This one has dragged on and hit the entire sales team morale more so then past RA rounds as this time people know who will be gone. The organization can't move on until this is finished and the powers that be are letting it drag out.

If people keep throwing days out, eventually someone will be right.

But at the end of the day, let's be honest: Unless someone has confirmed inside knowledge (which is damn near impossible to confirm here), it's all speculation. The axe will fall when it falls.

End of the quarter will be the date for layoffs. Say March 28th. This like clock work.

Is Mechanicsburg still around ? Poor folks are down to a hand full of people. They are waiting in line to get the word.

It's already started in the UK according to another post on this board. 300 given notice in GTS which is a significant slice of that organisation.

Do you really think IBM would delay an RA and lose the cost savings just because of bad publicity? It’s never matteted before.

5 out of 5 posters agree..........#shutupdavebouvier

Just a reminder folks..........#ibmsux

Don't wait get your resume in order and start looking if you haven't already done so... anyone that thinks they will grant anyone a reprieve based on an article or end of quarter business is seriously living in a fantasy world. No one is safe or immune to these RA's. I also can't see them backing off or changing the 2 weeks notice and 30 days severance packages anytime soon regardless or tenure or timing. This is part of their whole restructuring plan to minimize the sales force and maximize their revenues so that they show growth to their investors.

IBM legal is bigger than this article.

Well, other people reported being RA'd last week. So clearly it's happening, just not the massive one we all expect.

I found out today that a retirement age guy on another team (outside my management chain) got RA'd on the 16th. One of his teammates told me this morning that he was given the option of retiring now (he had been planning June) or getting RA'd. He took the RA. Apparently as soon as he got the news last week he grabbed his prepacked stuff and just walked out, and hasn't come back since. His last day is officially the 30th. Frankly if I were RA'd in his position, I'd do the walkout too.

I would wager that old BIG BLUE will shrug off the article unless something serious - lawsuits - come about. Ginny is at the retirement age herself. But IBM is ignorant and self-centered, believing that Armonk is the center of the universe. We shall see.