Yesterday IBM has announced RA in Europe for 2026
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@1bc the Swiss research site is celebrating 70 years right now!
@152 Not happening in the near future
@12x all small country offices will be closed , they will go 100% partner , they ll outsource all bussiness to midis , as it happened to africa , no need for ''offices'' any more in the cloud and SDS era
@12x https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proc%C3%A9dure_Renault
It's official now.
https://www.brusselstimes.com/1939341/ibm-belgium-to-lay-off-more-than-10-of-its-staff
Is "Renault procedure for collective redundancies" Flemish version of "Resource Alignment" ? One would hope IBM would just get as creative about its offerings and value it actually provides.
IBM will announce its earning on January 28, 2026 and will surely reference some "restructuring expenses".
Anyone can join the Earnings call, here's the weblink https://www.ibm.com/investor/events/earnings-4q25
@ma it felt like on my site the managers knew it was possible there would be one in the fall but were surprised how late it was and we hadn’t yet had one (until it happened) but nobody was offered retirement package and no contractors were let go unless they had extreme attendance issues
@m7 the last one in November was a surprise to most. I don’t think they even did WARN act! At my site it was a shocking out of no where surprise
I heard they didn’t offer retirement packages back in the last round (November)
@m5 3/30 is the date!
@Kp. It’s interesting that you mention this. I have several friends who have over 40 years in with the company (yes they are all mid 60’s and up) and every single one of them has been offered a retirement package with 90 days severance if they leave 3/30 or before. It sure appears like IBM is laser focused on lowering costs
@ks their who use of pip or lower performer status is bogus. They are using it in a way these protocols were not intended. It’s nefarious how they are really using these protocols
@kh where do the statistics come from in the us that managers give that say only like 30 percent of people on pips are fired? It’s clearly bogus as everyone on my team who has been on one has been fired …
@kh: The layoffs will be done before the end of the first quarter. It cannot spill over to the next quarter. There is also, the few hundred slated to retire by the end of the first quarter (forced to retire).
@ka
The employee reviews will be released next week. Then, about one month later, there will be a big layoff.
First, they will classify some people as low performers or put them into PIP status. Many of these decisions will not be fair or justified.
Later, this will be used as the reason for the reduction in force. It is only a formality and a show to protect the company and give legal coverage.
The disappointing part is that they have used this same method many times before, so everyone already understands what is happening. They really should use a different approach.
@k5: The blood bath starts in the US during the first week of February. For the time being, no serious work is being done, everyone is waiting for the outcome and most are edgy.
Around 50 people affected in Belgium.
@bc will it be a layoff in the spring in the states or just “firing” the one in six low performers with no severance
Can anyone post any link(s) to any articles about this?
RA me please! I hate this place!!!
@b3
Yup should hit the states by spring
@aw - The surplus people are marked for elimination and that would continue as long as the employers can artificially prop the stock price up without creating any real value.
Wow next wave is already starting?
@ak the article is quite right - most of the jobs transferred to India previously were manual, repetitive jobs which do not quire much upskilling (to use a Krabanaugh term). AI will take such jobs over in a short amount of time (the next year or 3) and the people in those job situations will find themselves back on the market looking for a job. AI is going to take over more and more manual job skills in time, as it gets more intelligence built in. It's happening all over. And the political ramifications could be significant for everyone. After all, you don't need so many people to work when the technology innovation and automation make them surplus to requirements. What do you do with so many surplus people ?
@aj - It may seem like it but reality is different.
https://www.computerworld.com/article/4119064/ai-bo-m-hiring-bust-indian-it-firms-add-just-17-net-employees-in-nine-months.html
@a4 well India seems to be booming!
@aa - The numbers are perfectly in line with 15% marked low performers. Savings would pay for the IBM executives trip to Davos to bullsh-t about AI at WEF.
It was already commented on before back in December. Europe planned for 1Q
Is this for real?
Business as usual… the US is almost down to no offices. It is going to be hard to close more offices in the US unless IBM wants to go back to WFH!
All US offices are overcrowded with people unable to find seats.
Just short of 60 people in Belgium out of a total of some 400 will be affected. No real details yet. Apparently not related to company results, but bench, productivity and work performed from Global Centres.
Yes Rumor has it they'll be closing several offices in smaller countries