IBM cuts ‘thousands’ of jobs across the US, NC included

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – IBM, under new chief executive Arvind Krishna, is making major cuts to its workforce.

Late on Thursday night, against the backdrop of a pandemic and sudden economic downturn, Big Blue confirmed that it was making layoffs “in the long-term interests” of the business.

It didn’t disclose the scale of the losses.

A person familiar with the company’s plans told the Wall Street Journal that they are thought to affect “several thousand people.”

IBM employs thousands of people across North Carolina, with its largest corporate campuses based in RTP.

Its portfolio also includes Raleigh-based open source giant Red Hat, which it acquired last year for roughly $34 billion.

A source told WRAL TechWire that the purge included losses at IBM’s RTP campus. It is not clear if Red Hat is also impacted. The company didn’t return calls to confirm.

Thread on the TheLayoff.com

Already, the discussion board TheLayoff.com is posting a long thread titled “IBM Layoffs in Progress,” posted by Anonymous on Thursday.

It has more than 25,000 views and 126 replies.

One person wrote: “Been with IBM for 4 years since they bought The Weather Company in 2016. Was working with TWC for one before IBM came in the picture. Everyone but one person on our team was RA’ed today. Brutal.”

Another commented: “Got the axe today as well. 15 years with the company, age in upper 30s, and excellent end of year assessments. All US employees across multiple squads and lines of business terminated. This was definitely one of the largest RAs [reduction in force] in history.”

Earlier this month, Krishna, who took over as CEO in early April, said he had no plans to split the tech giant or make more divestitures.

“I believe that we actually have enough financial stability, including a secure dividend,” Krishna said on “Mornings with Maria.” “The dividend is occupying a little bit more than half our free cash flow. It’s not like it’s occupying all of it, and that leaves enough flexibility for us to do it.”