A Wall Street Journal report claims that International Business Machines will pink-slip "a large number" of American employees in the supersize corporation's global-business services unit. This is despite IBM's 12% gain in fourth-quarter earnings, and 4,600 job cuts so far this year, according to documents reviewed by the Journal.
IBM earned nearly $4.5 billion in the final quarter of 2008. But that hasn't sheltered the company from the ubiquitous trend toward cost-cutting.
So far, neither the Journal nor anyone else has obtained even a rough body count of the planned reductions. IBM employs nearly 400,000 people in 170 countries, of whom 115,000 are in the U.S. The global business services group is IBM's largest by far, with a headcount around 180,000. In February, IBM offered laid-off U.S. employees a chance to move to overseas regional divisions and work there at local wages.
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Shame On Sam
He talks about creating jobs for the future !!!
He just layed off a nice neighbor of mine who spent 60-70 hours a week and very highly rated by peers along with more than 14 years with IBM service. She was the sole provider in her family paying a mortgage and student loans so her college age children could get an IT job at IBM. If that's not a SHAME ON YOU than what is ? How does someone like that sleep at night. I quess pretty good with a 21 million dollar bonus and 30 billion stimulus funds for future jobs. What about the jobs for today. I quess now the @#$% head can show his power and buy Sun Microsystems for 6 BILLION CASH. America leave it if you want a job he says. He did give the poor women the option of moving her family to India if she could get hired there where all the jobs are going. When do people stand up and do something like Dump ALL THEIR IBM STOCK to show even big companies that Nice Hard Working people like my neighbor deserve more than a kick in the behind. If this keeps up we all will be peeing in a hole in some other country just to feed our families
IBM is a BENEDICT ARNOLD company, one of the largest traitors to this great country of ours. The company wants to relocate American workers and their families to an overseas country like India. What a bunch of FASCISTS! The company sold its PC divsion to CHINA, a COMMUNIST country and our government allowed it. The american people are being completely abused by the corporate FASCIST model, they have hijacked our government through lobbying ( really Bribery). Its time for Americans to stand united and fight. Tell our congressman that they work for the american people, not these FASCIST regimes. And they have the nerve to ask for OUR TAX DOLLARS (stimulus package). Bottom line, these TRAITORS, both in coporate america and government should be rounded up, tarred and feathered, put on public display, public trial and then they should be banished from our country to Guantanamo Bay Cuba as traitors. Then we can have our country back and build a better future for our children and grandchildren. Remember, WE THE PEOPLE are the majority, the corporate pigs and corrupted government officials are the minority. They can easily be overpowered with the will of the american citizen, especially when its our wallets they are after. Finally, a word of caution to those TRAITORS, BE VERY CAREFULL, THIS IS HOW REVOLUTIONS BEGIN, HISTORY HAS PROVEN THAT TIME AND AGAIN. Once it starts, you better hope you have friends in third world countrys, I am sure they will be happy to accomodate your lavish lifestyles. :-)
Times Herald-Record
Posted: March 30, 2009 - 2:00 AM
As IBM was firing thousands of American workers last week, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published Big Blue's application to copyright a computerized system that calculates how to offshore jobs while maximizing government tax breaks.
Update: IBM withdraws its application, calling it an error.
In their application to patent a "method and system for strategic global resource sourcing," five Hudson Valley IBMers describe how it weighs such plans as "50 percent of resources in China by 2010," against such factors as labor costs, infrastructure and the "minimum head count to qualify for incentives."
The five Westchester County inventors, Ching-hua Chen-ritzo, Daniel Patrick Connors, Markus Ettl, Mayank Sharma, and Karthik Sourirajan, submitted the application to the patent office in September 2007, but it took a year and a half for that patent to be published online.
None could be reached by telephone Sunday except Ching-hua Chen-ritzo of Mahopac, who declined to comment, and attempts to reach IBM were unsuccessful.
Lee Conrad, national coordinator for Alliance@IBM, a group trying to unionize Big Blue, was stunned to learn of the application.
"This is obviously outrageous — a patent on how to offshore U.S. jobs," Conrad said. "IBM is obviously doing all it can to decimate the U.S. work force, and it is all the more reason why IBM should not get any tax breaks or stimulus money. They clearly are abandoning the U.S. work force."
The application says the system weighs moving into or out of a particular country against criteria such as wages, political systems, "incentive contracts" and the economic impact of "violating and/or satisfying those incentives."
In January, IBM reported that about 115,000, or 29 percent, of its global work force of about 400,000, is in the United States.
I think the US government needs to step in and pay attention to IBM human resources practices and how they screw up hard working peoples lives. I think the attorney generals office should help these wrongful terminations with a lawsuit of at least a million dollars for ruining their careers and livelyhood. How heartless is the ceo of IBM when these people worked hard and then get let go. If they just would have let them finish their careers and replaced them 1 for one after they retired. But people in their 50s and 60s were let go who had just a few more years left. That is a total shame. Not only should IBM be sued but Sam Palmisano should be jailed for stock manipulation for his cronies. Now is the time for change and we should all use this business as an example to other businesses that this is not acceptable. So all you effected employees ban together and do something about this. Norma Rae and Erin Brocovich would applaud your courage. PS the thinkpads stunk too
Frankie,
You said it to the point. I agree with you 100%. I am positive you are the same Frank from the Carteret, NJ IBM location (We worked together on SGC project) ... Keep in touch and keep up the outloud voices roaring .....
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