Comments on: Stimulus IBM Style: Take the Jack, Ship Out the Back

By: Carola Von H.

Carola Von H. — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:02:41 +0000

March 25th: The Wall Street Journal is reporting that IBM “is expected to inform a large number of U.S. employees..that that their jobs are being eliminated with the work of many of them being transferred to IBM employees in India”. The announcement will be made on March 26th– which has been dubbed “Black Thursday” by posters at the Alliance@IBM message board. IBM’s “resource actions” will target employees in the company’s global-business unit. Two months ago CEO Sam Palmisano, in an internal email, praised the unit for their impressive profit performance. That and a nickel…

By: IBM is ruining America

IBM is ruining America — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 17:11:47 +0000

This article is actually tame in it’s representation of the treatment of it’s employees. As several have said the 5000 number is VERY low as it is only the number listed in the various seperation packages issued in writing. It does NOT include the employees who IBM have been forced to quit or “retire” (by moving their jobs with no moving aid) or falsely accused of “poor performance” or told that if they can’t find their own contract work outside the company (with no way to do so and even cases where folks found work but were denied the opportunity to do it) that they are fired for being idle employees. Oh, and coincidentally 60-70% of those being RA’s or forced out are “older workers” 50+ whom IBM no longer wants to pay since they can now hire two college interns to replace… Couple that with the elimination of a retirement plan and NO medical coverage for retirees except a “lump sum” which at best would last the average person a couple years, and you get the picture…

By: BS Detector

BS Detector — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 17:37:32 +0000

The 5000 doesn’t include the folks who will be voluntarily resigning after they choose not to to show up in the new GDC’s. Yup, that’s right, folks. Either uproot your family and take a job in a new locale, with likely further band-downing and pay cuts, or don’t choose not to, at which point IBM considers this your resignation. No severance for these folks. All verbal communications, nothing in writing. IBM’s become a master of the underhanded, under-the-radar no-deal.

By: Ibmer from Europe

Ibmer from Europe — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 12:38:51 +0000

The article is great. As a 25 yrs IBMer the conditions of work have greatly deteriorated and the movement of jobs to low cost countries has accelerated. This is not limited to USA. The latest round of resource actions (yes : RA) has hit IBM Germany too. There, jobs will and have been moved to India as well. EG. DEVELOPMENT LAB IN BOEBLINGEN has been cut many positions.

By: Lou Gerstner

Lou Gerstner — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 07:49:59 +0000

Sam, please make sure you lock your windows workstation when you leave your desk.

By: Sam P

Sam P — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 07:48:07 +0000

I don’t know what my brother is doing but he’s really messed up this company.

By: Another IBMer

Another IBMer — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 05:35:07 +0000

I am a current IBMer, and I agree with others who say that BG4ME is either misinformed, or intentionally obscuring the truth. The 5000 layoffs reported at AllianceIBM.org represents only the numbers that IBM actually admits to in writing in the separation packages — the real number can only be higher. For example, the 5000 does not include contractors laid off in this “resource action,” nor does it include folks who have been forced out of the company through mistreatment and/or trumped up, “poor performance” reviews, nor does it include others who have been let go in the past year in much smaller resource actions that escaped the eyes of the press.

I have traditionally been a “let supply/demand run its course” sort of person, and sympathetic to the notion that IBM is merely trying to maximize its profits for the sake of its shareholders. This latest round of layoffs in the wake of what even Palmisano characterizes as a “terrific” annual report, IBM’s lack of disclosure of its current layoff (5000 is comparable to or even greater than the numbers reported by other companies), and the alarming rate of transfer of American IBM positions to BRIC countries has forced me to reconsider that position. I now believe that IBM is willfully and knowingly circumventing the existing safeguards such as the H1B visa system through a loophole that allows the creation of virtual sweatshops. IBM prides itself on “innovation,” and I must reluctantly admire the power of the money-making machine they’ve created. Yes, IBM is turning in great financial numbers, but they’re doing it with the blood of American workers.

This article totally hits the nail on the head. I encourage everyone to forward this to their friends and family to show folks what the once admirable IBM has become today.

By: Dracon_Katana

Dracon_Katana — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 23:59:38 +0000

I agree with the previous responder….BG4ME had no clue….and I can say first hand…as a recently “Resourced” IBMer and still in contact with many of my peers….most IBMers have NOT…repeat NOT found new jobs…GREAT FOR YOU BG4ME you found on person a job….but I happen to know… the Alliance site reports numbers based on responses from IBMers that have been laid off..period…also, I was imformed by my manager, while having to state that I would be given a chance to look for a new internal job….I was also told that all the jobs would be frozen before we really had a chance to apply. So, BG4ME…come into the real world…. IBM has sold out and that is that.

By: Don't believe the hype

Don't believe the hype — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 19:44:22 +0000

BG4ME is clearly and obviously lying. The figures about the current ongoing job eliminations posted by Alliance at IBM on their webpage are culled directly from the required documentation provided to the affected workers who receive a list of the job positions, locations and ages of the affected and not-affected parties. HR policies and procedures fail to provide adequate protection to the workers in one very important and specifically related regard - part of HR’s mission is to offshore our jobs. Finally, despite IBM public relations claims to the contrary, very few of the people whose jobs are eliminated will ever find employment inside IBM. There are a series of controls and freezes that could not have been designed better to prevent that from happening. This past month, many people have reported that applications for internal positions were denied by automated computer emails in the middle of the night. Given that BG4ME has stated that he or she helped one person find a new position, I have no doubt that he or she is a management or HR shill and not at all interested in objective truth.

By: Flamethrower

Flamethrower — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 19:24:44 +0000

I was one of 116 laid off on April 4, 2008. My then job for IBM is now in Brazil. My current job, lucky though I am to have it, pays about 20% less.

Go Sal!

By: BG4ME

BG4ME — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 14:40:18 +0000

Alliance@IBM is not a reliable source of figures for job losses at IBM, since A@I is a failed attempt to unionize IBM - mainly because IBM HR policies and process are far better than anything that any union could offer.

In addition, these figures are not true, because many of those affected have already found new jobs (I helped one of them to do so). The true numbers won’t be known for several weeks and will be much less than you say.