Job cut rumors put IBM on edge

Uncertainty hangs over RTP workers

IBM employees are bracing for a major round of job cuts as rumors swirl that the technology company is planning layoffs later this month.

Some employees expect that 16,000 people will be let go, said Lee Conrad, national coordinator at Alliance@IBM, a union that wants to organize IBM workers.

"We want to be cautious on this," Conrad said. "It's rumor at this stage until IBM actually makes the cuts."

Still, based on past experience, Conrad expects IBM will implement job cuts of that magnitude. IBM had 386,558 employees at the end of 2007, the latest total that it has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

"We don't comment on rumors and speculation," IBM spokesman Ian Colley said. "Other than that, IBM is continually rebalancing its work force. That includes hiring in key skill areas."

Conrad said that if the job cuts happen, how many jobs would be eliminated in the United States or in Research Triangle Park -- where the company has 11,000 employees -- is unknown.

"If there is a job cut of that size, RTP will get some," he said.

Anonymous comments posted by employees on Alliance@IBM's Web site reflect apprehension.

"I have the really bad feeling that I'm going to be selected for this round of layoffs," one employee wrote. "I've never felt this way before with any of the past ones. I'm scared to death."

IBM typically eliminates jobs in dribs and drabs. The company laid off 38 workers at its RTP operations in November, a month after it had eliminated about 100 local contract workers.

But it has had mass job cuts in the past, including 15,600 that were eliminated worldwide in 2002.

Conrad said any new job cuts would only be partially explained by the recession. A second factor, he said, is that IBM is steadily transferring work to its operations in India and China.

Spending on information technology is expected to slow significantly this year, triggering layoffs across the sector. Other Triangle tech companies cutting jobs in recent months include Alcatel-Lucent, Allscripts Misys Healthcare Solutions, Amkor Technology, ChannelAdvisor, Hatteras Networks, Lenovo, Lulu.com, Nortel Networks, Qimonda, Sony Ericsson and Consonus.