IBM Layoffs 2015: Here's What You Need To Know

The VAR Guy reported last week that IBM’s massive layoffs would begin this week — and this seems to be the case. Word surfaced last weekend that IBM is prepping to lay off up to 26 percent of its global workforce, or some 100,000 workers.

Many of these layoffs come on the heels of Lance Crosby’s resignation. Crosby, the founder of SoftLayer, a company IBM acquired for around $2 billion in July 2013, said in a statement that he was taking some time off before pursuing his “next challenge.”

Here’s what you need to know about IBM’s most recent round of layoffs. (Last Updated: 1:36 P.M. EST on 2/9/2015.)

Which IBM Layoff Numbers Add Up?. A lot of numbers have been tossed around in the media. Is journalist Robert Cringely wrong? Cringely reported that 26 percent of IBM’s employees were about to be shown the door. IBM seems to think so, according to a spokesperson in this article.

Annual rite: IBM layoffs, rebalancing underway. If you want to understand IBM’s annual review process, take a look here for a quick review. Dubbed Personal Business Commitment (PBC), Big Blue’s employee evaluation system ranks employees on a scale from one to three (one being the highest). Got a three? Pack your bags.

Lee Conrad of Alliance@IBM updates Talkin’ Cloud. According to Conrad, his sources project layoffs in the United States and Canada to be around 5,000 employees. Still way under the 100,000 mark suggested in last week’s report.

Lee Conrad of Alliance@IBM updates Talkin’ Cloud. Lee Conrad of Alliance@IBM this morning updated us via email on some of the numbers he’s been hearing from sources. (He said he does not have a total number.) According to him, 250 employees lost their jobs in Boulder Colorado; 150 employees received pink slips in Columbia, Missouri; and 202 employees were let go in Dubuque, Iowa.

Despite lackluster performance, IBM’s Rometty gets $3.6 million bonus. A bonus for IBM CEO Virginia Rometty? USA Today is reporting that even though Big Blue reported a decline in revenues for the 11th consecutive quarter, its CEO will pocket a $3.6 million bonus for 2014.

ChannelCast Newsmaker Updates Podcast: Interview with Alliance@IBM’s Lee Conrad. IBM’s latest round of employee layoffs have begun, with thousands affected worldwide. In this ChannelCast podcast, Lee Conrad of Alliance@IBM talks to The VAR Guy’s Charlene O’Hanlon and puts the layoffs in perspective and discusses their impact on IBM and its employees and customers.

ChannelCast Podcast: IBM Layoffs, LogMeIn Central Prices, Snowmageddon. In our first ChannelCast Podcast, our editors discuss IBM layoffs, snowmageddon, and price hikes for LogMeIn Central and more. Check out the inside track on the news of the week with our editors Charlene O’Hanlon of The VAR Guy, CJ Arlotta of Talkin’ Cloud and Jessica Davis of MSPmentor.

Department of Economic Development to review IBM incentives after Columbia layoffs. According to this report, IBM has received $10.26 million in state incentives. The Missouri Department of Economic Development plans to review Big Blue’s layoffs on Friday to determine whether the latest round of firings affect the company’s eligibility for state incentives.

IBM job cuts in NY minimal, according to reports. Another outlet is reporting that New York will see minimal cuts, primarily in the Hudson Valley region.

IBM jobs in NY said to safe in restructuring. Will IBM workers in New York be spared? A source close to IBM and the state told Gannett’s Albany Bureau that Big Blue isn’t planning to cut jobs in the Empire State. It’s important to note: Big Blue vowed to keep its jobs in New York in a $1.5 billion transaction last year with GlobalFoundries, a semiconductor manufacturing company.

IBM Strategy: Protect The Machine, Not The People. According to Bruce Kasanoff, a Forbes contributor who had IBM as a client during his days at Ogilvy & Mather: “IBM’s strategy is — and has always been — to hire as quickly as necessary to propel growth, and to let people go when the business shifts.” His translation in simple terms: “Protect the machine, not the people.”

IBM layoffs hit Columbia service center. IBM’s service delivery center in Columbia, Missouri on Wednesday learned that there will be cuts. An IBM spokesperson confirmed the cuts at this particular facility but would not provide an answer as to how many. The Missouri Department of Economic Development’s lastest numbers on how many employees are working at the Columbia location put the most recent count at 606. Big Blue said it planned to hire 800 people by the end of 2012.

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IBM Layoffs 2015: Employees Say Firings Have Begun. Big Blue’s already cutting employees in Australia. An IBM employee based there has confirmed the layoffs in a posting:

“I can confirm first hand that significant cuts are being made in Melbourne, Australia at multiple levels from Project Executives, DPE, Managers, SDMs, SMEs across multiple accounts. It seems to be predominantly affecting permanent staff, but contractors seem to be affected too. There seems to be no pattern to the selection criteria, as seemly indispensable people in key/critical positions are being removed. What is becoming abundantly clear is the organisation is effective scuttling itself.”

The Alliance@IBM, a watchdog site for IBM employees, posted this message: “Employees reporting urgent requests from managers to meet one on one Wednesday 1/28/15,” adding that the “Resource Action” (RA) already is underway in Australia.

The IBM Axe Starts Chopping — Widespread Layoffs Begin. Take a look at the Alliance@IBM website, and you’ll find plenty of commentary from employees being let go from the company. Many of these employees have been with Big Blue for more than 15 years. It appears that some of them are being let go for poor performance reviews.

IBM layoffs hit RTP, other U.S. sites. Layoffs have also been reported at IBM’s Executive Briefing Center in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. The figures, however, are unclear. It’s known that Big Blue has thousands of employees working at its RTP campus, but the exact number is unknown.

Rochester IBMers await word about possible layoffs. IBM employees located in Rochester, Minnesota have been awaiting to hear about any possible layoffs. Some Midwest employees have received work this week that their job will end. State officials said they have not been notified of any large layoffs, as is required by law.

200 IBM employees in Dubuque lose jobs. About 200 people at IBM in Dubuque, Iowa lost their jobs Wednesday, said Rick Dickinson, CEO of the Greater Dubuque Development Corporation. He also said he believes the location now employs somewhere around 600-700, half of the 1,300 jobs IBM promised to deliver to the city. According to him, IBM 1,300 jobs in fall of 2011, but it since then the number has been decreasing.

Follow CJ Arlotta on Twitter @cjarlotta and Google+ for further updates on the story above — or if you just want to say hello. Email: cj.arlotta”at”penton.com.