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There were times when IBMers were proud to work in one of the largest IT-companies in the world. They were respected as employees, were well paid, had secure jobs and worked in an environment conducive to innovation and collaboration.
But things have changed in IBM since the company published its Road Maps for 2010 and 2015. Instead of focusing on the people that made the company great, IBM is now transfixed by numbers and Earnings per Share (EPS).
In 2013, IBM spent 1 billion USD on what it called “workforce rebalancing”, which means nothing else than a giant job cut. In 2014, the company is set to spend another 1 billion USD to eliminate an estimated 15,000 jobs worldwide. This comes at a time when the company continues to make hefty profits.
UNI Global Union and the UNI IBM Alliance denounce the company’s move to lay off its employees en masse. IBMers remain the company’s biggest asset, and should be in the forefront of any change. Alternatives to layoffs exist for companies looking to cut costs. Retraining programs can yield positive results for both employees and the company, and have been implemented successfully in numerous companies.
Lee Conrad, from Alliance@IBM CWA and UNI IBM Alliance Coordinator said “The hits just keep coming. Following the news that job cuts will happen this quarter, the latest is that IBM will sell one of its server units to Chinese company Lenovo. 7500 workers worldwide will be impacted and moved out of IBM”.
Said Alan Tate, Head of UNI ICTS: “IBM needs to go back to its roots and focus on what made the company successful for over 100 years. It needs to invests in its employees and ensure decent work. Innovation is what made IBM a great company not greed.”