Big blues at IBM India

Sufia Tippu, EETimes
2/17/2014 00:00 AM EST

BANGALORE — In one of the largest-ever lay-off drive among global technology companies, IBM is said to have started cutting jobs globally on Wednesday, with first casualties in India.

Wral TechWire, a tech-related website, quoted IBM staffers in Bangalore as saying that “people broke down after seeing the inhuman treatment. Laptops along with the cases were confiscated, so several employees were seen crying and exiting building carrying and balancing their personal belongings with their two hands.” Unofficial estimates put the sacking number at around 1,000 in Bangalore alone.

Poor fourth-quarter results reported last month, marked by a 26 percent slump in hardware revenue, is suspected to be the main cause of layoffs. Worldwide, IBM employs 430,000 people and reports say some 13,000 jobs are likely to be cut as the tech major performs a “global rebalancing” act, termed “resource action” or RA, that could save about $1 billion in costs.

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