Thread regarding IBM layoffs

@hn+1knz0tr74
Spot on. Much like the way they’ve twisted and we-ponised the PIP system, they’ve done precisely the same with the H-1B and other visa system, effectively creating a kind of plantation of indentured servants. Don’t like it then you can get back on a plane and go home.

What happened to all the age discrimination law suits?

@dr I work with that site too, and it’s been an odd place for a good long while now. Most folks outside Albany already know it runs a little “different,” and just feels off. It’s the kind of place where people see things, but tend to look the other way and keep quiet.

Same leadership’s been there the whole time. A lot of the workforce is on visas, so folks don’t feel too comfortable speakin up when something ain’t right. They worry about retaliation or losing their visa status. Leadership knows that they can leverage this power dynamic and it kind of steers the whole situation. That’s how things ended up like they are in Albany. And truth be told, there ain’t a whole lot they can do about it.

@dw IBM as one of the most ethical companies in the world ? You must have confused Corrupt IBM CEO Alvind with someone else. He has even overtaken Ginny when it comes to lying and sweeping the uncomfortable things at IBM under the carpet. Think Red Hat, of course.

Wait a minute! Doesn’t IBM get recognized every year as one of the more ethical companies, and also land on lists like Forbes’ “World’s Best Employers 2025”?

@dp
I am not an Albany employee, but I interact with the site for many years. I agree with this take, but I’d add that a lot of what you’re describing didn’t just appear overnight. It’s been there for a very long time. The difference now is that the conditions have changed enough to expose it.

For years, the lack of layoffs and steady hiring masked deeper issues, organizational bloat, uneven accountability, and a culture that tolerated a lot as long as things looked stable on the surface. Now that the business is under pressure, those same structural problems are coming to the forefront all at once: layoffs, favoritism, questionable promotions, aggressive PIPs, and a sharp shift in tone.

What feels like a sudden change is really a long-standing dynamic finally becoming visible. And I think employees, especially those who’ve been there a while, have simply had enough. The tolerance that existed during the “good years” is gone, and people are no longer willing to overlook the inconsistencies and cultural issues that were previously brushed aside.

I’d also add that there’s often been a relatively small group that seems to control much of the direction and benefit disproportionately from the site’s activities, while the kinds of major, durable milestones that truly move the broader business forward never fully materialize. That disconnect is becoming harder to ignore now that results are under more scrutiny.

@dn it was a place with no layoffs (occasionally getting rid of low performers) and they overhired and aren’t doing well and had a large layoff and are suddenly putting lots on PIPs so it’s quickly become toxic. Maybe lots of IBM was already like that but this place rapidly changed is my understanding from the few years I worked there based on talking to people who had been there a long time

Honest question....why does Albany pop up in many of these threads?

Did IBM settle so they wouldn’t have to publish the demographic breakdowns with the company? Or of who was laid off?

@dg same! Wtf?!

@db everyone in my dept marked a low performer was white and 40 plus

They really ought to be putting that same time, energy, and know-how into the Albany site. I have a feeling if they slowed down and took a good look under the hood, an honest look, they’d find there’s quite a bit going on there.

That penalty isn't enough to change anything. The matter of hiring and promotions protocols used by IBM is now much more of a problem for the Indian justice department than the American justice department.