back to article IBM is to cut more than 1 in 8 from its UK Labs, say sources

IBM is taking the knife to the UK Labs team with more than one in eight staffers expected to get the chop, insiders have told us. The “Resource Actions” are expected to see 123 out of 900 divisional employees get made redundant following the start of a 45-day redundancy notice period. An Employee Consultation Committee has …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    responding to tough market conditions

    Or inability of any of their ridiculously highly paid execs to come up with anything that resembles a growth strategy other than flog staff and assets to fund share buybacks.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Not just labs & GTS

    In the UK, IBM Analytics is also facing the axe - with 45 out of 500-odd jobs to go. And Analytics is supposed to be one of the things IBM is pinning its future on. What is really a kick in the teeth (and confirmation that IBM is essentially Evil-corp, lest we occasionally forget) is the fact that this is - like elsewhere in the company - involuntary and statutory minimum only. Thanks guys for your 20+ years service - have £14K - but only after completing your 12 week notice period (and yes we are expecting you to work it).

    IBM had showed some signs of sanity this past year - for example finally getting rid of the PBC system in favour of something that they assure us isn't forced-distribution. This is a very regressive step, and shows that the beatings will continue until morale improves mindset is still strong in the company.

    Personally, my skills and performance history mean I'll be unlikely to be selected for this involuntary round but that doesn't stop me being pretty sickened by how and why this is being done.

    1. Someone_Somewhere

      Re: Not just labs & GTS

      Involuntary redundancy; isn't that a bit like involuntary euthanasia?

      1. Mpeler
        Mushroom

        Re: Not just labs & GTS

        "... involuntary euthanasia"...

        Methinks it's the "youth in Asia" who are getting all the jobs...

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Not just labs & GTS

          "Methinks it's the "youth in Asia" who are getting all the jobs..."

          Only long enough to get a little experience. After that, most of them walk a few across the business park and go work for the (usually much better paying) competition.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "Globally IBM continues to invest in skills needed for the future”

    I assume this means screw the UK and offshore the lot.

    They want to take UK contracts but they'll be serviced abroad, the UK guys are no longer required.

    1. Dan 55 Silver badge
      Unhappy

      That's why you get headlines like this...

      IBM added 70,000 people to its ranks in 2015, and lost that many, too

      At least Watson's safe, until it gets the wrong batch script run on it by accident.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Same old same old

    I notice that most of the comments so far are anonymous. I wonder how many of these are ex-IBMers relieved to have escaped the madhouse?

    Oh look, it would appear that I am anonymous too.

    1. Yes Me Silver badge

      Re: Same old same old

      What struck me when I first started working there was the very low revenue per employee compared to the obvious competitors. What struck me when I left after 10 years was the very low revenue per employee...

      So I expect that yet again they are letting the doers go and keeping the talkers, thus maintaining the same level of revenue per employee.

    2. Someone_Somewhere

      Re: Same old same old

      What's a 'ymouse'?

      Is it a male mouse?

      Is a female mouse, therefore, an x-mouse?

      I only ask in case I too would like to declare my non-ymouse status.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Thought IBM was up in Bedfont lakes rather than Staines (near another company that's synonymous for layoffs...)?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      There used to be an office in Staines. It was the old Lotus office, but I think it went a while ago. Bedfont used to be a fairly big site, with two buildings. The larger of the two (which was in Tomorrow Never Dies) was vacated by IBM a few years ago and the remaining building is a few offices and no open areas, so is never used for customer meetings as the other building was. Farnborough's much the same; open plan office with not that many people there.

      Most people either work from home or have left the company one way or another. Customer meetings (what remains of them) are all done at South Bank.

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