IBM Refutes "Ridiculous" Rumor of Heavy Handed Layoffs

[[Coi] Mr.CLuBBeR]

Setting the record straight

A Forbes report last week indicated that IBM was preparing for a "bloodbath," one that would see the dismissal of about 26 percent of its workforce, or as many as 112,000 employees. That would indeed be a bloodbath, expect that the actual number of pink slips IBM plans to hand out will be much lower. Instead of 112,000 employees being shown the door, IBM said layoffs will number in the several thousands, or a "small fraction" of what Forbes reported.
By its own admission, IBM doesn't address rumors, a policy that's common in the tech industry. But even with that being the case, the company couldn't help but, well, address the rumor, taking a jab at the initial report in the process while offering up a clarification.
"IBM does not comment on rumors, even ridiculous or baseless ones," IBM told Reuters in an email. "If anyone had checked information readily available from our public earnings statements, or had simply asked us, they would know that IBM has already announced the company has just taken a $600 million charge for workforce rebalancing. This equates to several thousand people, a small fraction of what's been reported."
The "rebalancing" effort IBM references is intended to make room for incoming employees with new skill-sets. In addition, an IBM spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal that it currently has around 15,000 job openings as part of the rebalancing process. Areas it's looking for new blood include cloud, analytics, security, and social and mobile technologies.
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