IBM continues its self inflicted wounds. Laying off thousands, 90 days to find a transfer job within IBM, oops, not so fast, a sudden hiring freeze ends that charade. Release contractors, no new contractors.
So how can IBM function to turn things around when they are shedding the very people they need to turn it around?
Ginni has taken the wheels off her own wagon.
This is pathetic.
This latest round of layoffs and contractor purging might be the turning point making this decline irreversible.
"What is the mood in IBM offices now?"
It's ugly. Execs are panicking and putting extreme pressure on everyone below them, and it's going right down the line in management to the grunts. Managers are panicking because the big rumor is that the next big cut (soon) will have a lot of managers in it. Nobody can accomplish the unrealistic goals, because customers just aren't interested. Period. So now anyone that has an opportunity, or call with a customer, is getting pressure from their manager to "include" them. Managers are fighting over turf so they can try to be the one to avoid the reaper. It's very, very ugly inside. The zombie RA'd employees from last round, who are here until June, are laughing at all of it and not returning calls from anyone or doing the turnover tasks required of them. They're the lucky ones.
"What is the mood in IBM offices now?"
Exactly what you'd expect. Some of us have given up, going through the motions and running out the clock. Some of us are looking for new jobs, trying to get out before the RA Reaper arrives. And some of us are driving ourselves crazy, still trying to do quality work for a company that actively discourages it, because that's just the way we are.
"Can anyone be productive in this toxic environment?"
The first group, no. The second group can be productive in their own self-interest but that's it. The third group might still get isolated moments of traction for their clients or their organizations, but the rampant chaos of mismanagement makes it impossible to sustain anything successful.
These are the flailings of a fish gasping for air on the dock.
What is the mood in IBM offices now? Can anyone be productive in this toxic environment?
What are customers thinking? About their loyalty?
Senior management must make a declaration that layoffs will end immediately and all remaining employees are to remain.
A significant one time bonus to every non-executive employee would go a long way.
The gig is up for her, and maybe IBM as a whole. Warren Buffett just announced that he sold off 1/3 of his IBM shares in 1Q and 2Q, when it was at $180. The stock is down over $4 pre-market, it will tank today. So much for all of the lemmings who bought because Warren bought. His investment was one of the only things propping up any kind of confidence in IBM. When he did this with his Walmart shares in Berkshihre Hathaway, he eventually sold them all. He cited strong competition from Amazon, Google, Microsoft but in reality he has good vision into the rot inside the company, as many of us do, so that was probably his motivating factor, among many.