It appears that IBM is currently in the process of “rebalancing” its workforce by letting go of thousands of employees, particularly at the senior level. The affected employees are said to be from sales, programming, and support teams. IBM is reported to have incurred $300 million in workforce rebalancing costs last year and is expected to spend approximately $400 million this year.
Reports state that IBM has been issuing public notices through Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) letters in the US. For example, 54 employees were laid off in Santa Clara County, 57 in San Francisco, and 63 in Washington. All affected employees are expected to be informed by November 2024, and the exact number of layoffs is yet to be officially confirmed.
Additionally, IBM announced its intention to downsize its workforce in China, leading to the closure of its China Development Lab and China Systems Lab, impacting at least a thousand employees across Beijing, Shanghai, and Dalian.
In total, around 27,000 employees in the tech industry have been affected by these layoffs, which can be attributed to declining demand and the growing use of AI and cybersecurity technology.
