IBM does what IBM does best: Raises the chopper again

No we aren't talking about helicopters. UK heads, offshoring....

Exclusive With the wider ambition to base eight in 10 services personnel to lower-cost wage locations, IBM has commenced the latest job-cutting process in the UK and Ireland.

Big Blue wrote to staff in the Global Technology Services division yesterday to warn of a 45-day consultation, indicating that at least 100 heads are going to roll.

“It is announced today that we are forming an Employee Consultation Committee (ECC) to represent the permanent employee population of the IS Delivery business areas in the UK,” the memo stated.

Both management and the wider workforce will sit around the table, IBM added in the missive, and discuss “proposals for the organisation to meet its business objectives”.

IBMers have until this Friday, 1 December, to nominate colleagues to represent them. The consultation starts on 6 December for one-and-a-half months.

The company signed off by thanking staff for their “continued support and commitment to our business at this time. It is vital that we continue to provide a first class service to our customers”.

As The Register has previously revealed, IBM wants to employ 80 per cent of its GTS people in relatively cheaper areas, including India, by the end of 2017.

In fact, IBM previously indicated in internal documents seen by us earlier this year that 122,000 of its entire workforce is already based in India and Bangladesh. IBM employed 380,000 heads in 2016.

Multiple redundancy programmes were run by the tech giant this year already, and the timing of the latest is impeccable.

It has also moved to cut travel costs for all the grunts – but clearly CEO Ginni Rometty avoided that particular austerity measure.

IBM has reported declining sales for the past 22 quarters. ®