Paul Kunert writes in an exclusive report for The Register: IBM is asking staff who wish to make voluntary redundancies to raise their hands as it embarks on a new phase of global job cuts, with roles in Europe and a small number of divisions expected to bear the brunt. This resource action, as Big Blue likes to refer euphemistically to layoffs, is a big deal for anyone with more than a passing interest in IBM, as it was announced on its fourth-quarter earnings call last month. No surprise. The latest process is considered “transformative” rather than financial, according to insiders, although IBM announced in January that Chief Financial Officer James Kavanaugh had “2024” This was made clear when we talked about achieving an annualized savings rate of $3 billion by the end of the year. This is a third bigger than his original goal. Regulations understand that 80% of reduction targets are directed towards Enterprise Operations & Support (EO&S) and Q2C Mission, Finance & Operations (including Procurement, CIO, Human Resources, Marketing & Communications, Global Real Estate) .
One IBM employee told us that the European Works Council informed staff that about 50 percent of IBM's reduction targets will affect staffing levels across the continent. Rather than cutting off those who don't want to leave, as is often the preferred path, IBM seeks employees who are willing to take voluntary redundancies. Sources we spoke to did not say the total number of people affected by the cuts or the number of volunteers being recruited. IBM has not confirmed the numbers either. […] We hear that Slovakia is in the toughest situation, with about a third of IBM's cuts in Europe going to its international (shared services) center in Bratislava. The Hungarian center supporting EO&S/Q2C and the Bulgarian finance department will also absorb what our sources said are the most dramatic job cuts.