IBM Corp. has started a new round of layoffs, this time cutting jobs in Research Triangle, N.C.; New York City; Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; and Boulder, Colo., according to multiple reports. Total IBM layoffs this year could reach 14,000 employees and staff members, according to Stanford Bernstein.
IBM has not confirmed the job cut estimate, but company representatives have repeatedly stated that the company is "rebalancing" its talent and headcount toward growth areas like cloud computing, cognitive computing (big data analytics), mobile and security.
Growth Businesses Aren't Safe, Either
Still, it sounds like IBM is even cutting jobs and positions in growth markets. Indeed, employees working on IBM Watson and analytics suffered job cuts this week, according to WRAL TechWire. Although IBM apparently has about 20,000 to 25,000 open positions worldwide, some U.S. workers and layoff victims lament that most positions are offshore.
According to The Wall Street Journal:
This week’s cuts affected workers in the Research Triangle of North Carolina; New York City; Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; and Boulder, Colo. Some positions are being moved to places like India and Costa Rica, according to workers affected by this week’s cuts.
IBM's previous round of layoffs, in March 2016, cut 5,000 employees, The Journal has reported. Earlier this year, CFO Martin Schroeter told The Journal that overall headcount could potentially remain flat for 2016.
Even as IBM's cloud and data businesses accelerate, the growth hasn't been enough to offset four years of falling revenues.
Technology Industry Layoffs 2016
Although the overall technology industry remains healthy, layoffs are occurring at multiple companies -- especially hardware- or client-server centric companies that were late to the cloud and mobile waves.
Among the technology businesses making cuts in 2016:
