IBM Layoffs: The job cuts are said to be part of a shift to move operations to India, where IBM has a strong presence
IBM is reportedly laying off nearly 9,000 employees across multiple locations in the United States, according to a report published by The Register. The employees who are likely to exit are believed to belong from various teams, including Cloud Classic operation, consulting, corporate social responsibility initiatives, sales, cloud infrastructure offerings, and the company’s CIO team.
In addition, around 10% of the Cloud group employees have also been asked to leave. The report stated that the layoffs could affect IBM employees across various locations like California, New York City and State, Texas, Dallas, Raleigh, North Carolina, and more.
One of the reasons behind the layoffs in IBM Cloud Classic is that the company is transferring employment to India “as much as possible”. In India, the company has its presence in cities like Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai, and Hyderabad.
‘Return to Office’ Mandate
Employees who managed to avoid IBM’s latest round of layoffs can now face a new mandate from the company. The report added that employees are expected to return to the office at least three days a week by the end of April.
“Management is monitoring badge swipes and only allowing medical exemption, which is being frowned upon by executives and even discouraged by middle managers. Concrete numbers are being kept private. It is in the thousands,” the report said as quoted by The Register.
However, Outlook Business cannot independently verify this report as IBM has not issued any official statement regarding layoffs yet. However, IBM’s chief financial officer James Kavanaugh has recently said that he anticipated the ‘workforce rebalancing’ to be consistent in recent years.
The layoffs information came after IBM’s revenue increased by 1% to $17.6 billion in the October-December 2024 period. The company’s software revenue also rose by 10%, while its consulting revenue declined by 2% and infrastructure revenue fell by 8%.
Besides IBM, other tech major companies like Amazon, Meta, and HP have also laying off employees in recent months as part of their ongoing restructuring plans.
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