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More IBM contractors get rates cut

Another group of contractors at Big Blue have had their pay rates cut, this time via recruitment outfit Elan. The company and Elan are remaining quiet on how much the rates have been cut by, but one anonymous source told The Register that it was by as much as 15 per cent. "This seems ridiculous to us, when the majority of …

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Anonymous Coward
Dead Vulture

IBM might even beat out HP for low ethics

IBM is probably the worst managed company that I ever worked for. Seems like every plan they make kills moral a little more. Maybe Obama will pull the rat CEO.

Anonymous Coward
Unhappy

Trying to out-HP HP

HP kills their employees moral constantly and makes money. IBM is just trying to copy them. It works in the short run, but in the long run it should result in worse and worse customer service and a decrease in quality. In the case of IBM, the decrease in quality would be barely noticeable, as their quality has fallen so much in the last few years, I doubt anyone would notice. As far as HP, the quality is still there, but they mostly just resell everything anyway. The big issue for HP is that their customer service sucks and will continue to get worse under current management.

Anonymous Coward
Pirate

Well....

Having worked for IBM for over a year as a contractor until around november, I can only say, that looking at it, they have been fair to me.

I don agree with the decision, and I think that goon from STG is an idiot by killing some great projects, but the immediate management has been absolutely fair to me.

The big problem is, that the top execs at big blue haven learnt a thing in the past thirty years!!!

They had the superior OS (as in OS/2) and had the chance to really kick butt, but with their attitude, they just blew it!

they had the superior processor (as in Cell and Power), but because of short sightedness, they blew it again!!!

How can you try and sell a new processor to the masses, when you don have any decent apps?

oh.. you mean the PS3 and XBox 360....

oh man, you want the real deal and not something that´s been castrated.

the cell processor is probably the most powerful processor that I have ever worked with, (when it comes to number crunching), a great piece of nano-engineering, but the bean counters have blown it again!!!!!!! for goodness sake, when are you going to learn, that market leadership means to look a bit further than just one or two financial quarters!!!

But what can I say... these idiots up there think they see the big picture....

It´s actually nothing more than just a few sheets of paper, that are covering this big picture up!!!

Keith T
Flame

IBM customers will probably pay the price for his disgusting win-loose non-negotiation

Disgusting lack of business ethics to change rates mid-contract when the other party has done no wrong.

It is on a par with quitting mid-contract or go-slow campaigns mid-contract for no reason.

I predict declining product quality as a result. IBM customers will pay the price of this win-loose non-negotiation.

If people can find better paying work elsewhere, they should take it. Since the other party has unilaterally broken the contract, contract workers should feel free to do so at any time now.

Anon

@AC

I don't think you can complain about morals when you're dealing with contractors. I know some very good contractors, but a large proportion of those than I come across are jokers, not particularly well skilled and claim to have done every single technology that they've read about. Contractors need to understand that they can't have their cake and eat it - i.e. you get paid well in the good times so that they can ride out storms like this - and a cut like this ain't the end of the world.

Also, FYI, the cuts are only on certain projects (the less critical ones).

floweracre
Thumb Down

Big Blue

Slightly smaller, cyan!

Anonymous Coward
Anonymous Coward

Pah

In the Netherlands IBM announced half-way through November that they would cut contractor rates 10% starting from the beginning of the month November. I think that classifies at theft, but I would not be surprised if it was incompetence or seriously misplaced arrogance: I have never worked for a company that had so many people manage completely irrelevant aspects of doing business.

@Anon: there are people in the IBM sales force who think AIX is a Dutch stock market (which, confusingly, is called AEX). But hey, don't blame me, I always wear my red nose at the interview.

Anonymous Coward
Anonymous Coward

rate cuts.

If you're a contractor then think yourself very lucky you still have a job. Permies such as myself have been laid-off.

IBM might not 'need' to cut contract rates, their business is doing well, but at the end of the day, as a contractor you know you are subject to market forces, whatever the client wants to do with you, they can. IBM can cut contract rates because it can, "don't like the rate cut? Then get yourself another contract with another company - if you can -".

Better to have a rate cut than no job at all.

Anonymous Coward
Thumb Down

fair and appropriate

Just another way of saying the exec bonuses aren't big enough this year and we need to make some "adjustments".

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