International Business Machines (IBM) has reportedly laid off thousands of employees across the US, irrespective of age, tenure and seniority. While the exact number of job cuts is yet to be revealed, the Company has conveyed that the move has been taken keeping in mind the interests of the business in the long run.
However, the Company is extending subsidised medical coverage to all the laid off employees in the US, till June next year.
It is primarily employees in North America who seem to have been impacted, specially in Pennsylvania, California, Missouri and New York.
Entire departments in certain locations were reportedly told that their last working day will be June 22.
This is the first significant downsizing exercise that has taken place ever since Arvind Krishna took over as the new CEO. Krishna has been attempting to revive the growth of the Company.
The global technology services (GTS) and the global business services (GBS) teams seem to have been hit the hardest, having been cut by 40 percent and 25 percent, respectively.
Staff have reportedly been given 30 days’ notice and a severance package equal to 90 days’ pay.
Some reports also suggest that these layoffs are a step towards IBM trying to focus on the cloud part of its business. But that does not really explain why some of the employees who have recently completed certifications on cloud platforms have been asked to leave.
