back to article IBM chasing ex-staffers for $20 payments

IBM's nasty round of job-shedding is in part due to a pyramid scheme, in the form of a new Digital Sales Center in Cairo, Egypt, home to the nation's most famous pyramids. IBM's not being shy about why it's making new investments in Egypt: its canned statement about the new facility features the CEO of the Egyptian Information …

  1. Ted Treen
    Facepalm

    “ transform the way IBM digitally engages with clients and business partners across 70 countries in the region.”

    Translation

    "It's cheaper."

    1. Bob Vistakin
      Mushroom

      IBM being nasty? Surely not.

      1. James Anderson

        Along with:

        Bristol Motors who licensed there aircraft engine designs to BMW and Kawasaki

        AMAL carburetors who licensed the design of their carburetors to Mitsubishi

        and almost any other large enterprise that could make something the Germans or Japanese could not make themselves.

        WWII finished 69 years ago. It really is history.

  2. Number6

    I think if I received a bill for $20 from an employer who'd just fired me like that, I'd write back and ask for a full cost breakdown to justify why I owed them the money. That would easily cost them more than $20 even if it turned out that I had to pay it.

    1. Shadow Systems

      And then demand arbitration.

      Even if you lose, it'll cost the company even more money to pay for the arbitration, which means you've just shafted them for the cost of that as well. Then refuse to pay either the initial bill or the cost of the arbitration, demanding they take you to small claims court. Refuse to go to court so they get a summary judgement against you. They'll have to spend even more money to try & get your current finances (Unemployment insurance) docked for the money. You know, the Unemployment Insurance that your ex employer has to pay you for firing you? Yeah, those funds. Which means the employer will have to pay court costs to file the paperwork against itself to legally garnish part of your Unemployment cheque. All because you refuse to pay them the bullshit bill they tried to stick you with because they're cheap ass bastards.

      "Hey! Have fun spending thousands of dollars to get me to pay you a Twenty! And while you're at it, I'll be over here pissing in your Cheerio's! HA!"

      *Cough*

      Don't mind me, I'm just a Creatively Vindictive Bastard.

      1. Elmer Phud

        Re: And then demand arbitration.

        "Don't mind me, I'm just a Creatively Vindictive Bastard."

        Quite, how much can they be made to spend to get thier money they say they are owed?

        But how much bonus will some dickhead get for thinking up such a money-losing idea in the first place. and will they ever get back the cost of setting up this scheme --or is it one that has been designed to be written off against tax?

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    This story brought to you by the Union and anti-IBM crowd

    News day slow enough that you had to dig up a hit piece on IBM? Businesses run on computers. When transactions happen such as settling up with an employee who is leaving there is a computer somewhere than runs the numbers. When done, it spits out a result. You get paid, you owe nothing or you owe us. It is that simple. Get over your hurt feelings soon departed employee and shame on the Alliance for splitting hairs. This is the problem with unions is they have to comment on anything they think is critical of an employer failing to acknowledge they have rights as well. This is why most intellectual professionals do not join. To be credible you have to act credible.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: This story brought to you by the Union and anti-IBM crowd

      *Waves* Hi Ginni! Obviously you prefer to shit on people as opposed to using the gold plated toilet in your yacht. Perhaps this year you could use your shares to buy a mirror and take a long hard look at yourself and how you have ruined IBM through your insane policies and inability to actually think of a strategy beyond firing people.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: This story brought to you by the Union and anti-IBM crowd

        " buy a mirror and take a long hard look at yourself"

        http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/arts-entertainment/itv-working-furiously-on-terrahawks-30th-anniversary-special-2013112581411

    2. Mike S

      Re: This story brought to you by the Union and anti-IBM crowd

      It's classic penny-wise, pound-foolish behavior.

      * A $20 debt from an inactive account certainly costs more for them to collect (in AR staff time) than the amount of the debt.

      * It generates ill will within a class (technology professionals) it is actively hiring from.

      * It looks bad for a technology firm to say "gee whiz, we don't know how we overpaid you. Our record keeping and accounts payable need some better integration.

      But aside from all of that... Aside from matters of perception and economic benefit, common sense and human decency dictate that you do not do this.

      1. Alan Brown Silver badge

        Re: This story brought to you by the Union and anti-IBM crowd

        "It generates ill will within a class (technology professionals) it is actively hiring from."

        IBM isn't hiring in the countries it's generating the ill will.

        Cringley (yes that cringley) has posted a fairly good assessment/summary of what's happening and a number of IBM and ex-IBM people have piled in on the discussion.

        As Cringley has pointed out, IBM is currently losing a Lufthansa-sized customer a year and every time they pull this stunt their service levels go down, so they lose more clients.

        They lost my employer a long time ago over poor service and every time they'd pitched at us since we've seen no reason whatsoever to go with them again. Trying to sell solutions for £1million when everyone else is pitching at £100k isn't a good way to make a sale.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Happened to me as well

    In my case over $2,500. Not a happy amount when you haven't yet found something new.

    Then they refused to adjust my PAYG. Took me 4 months to get a new one. Sweet revenge, if you can call it that, was when it drove my gross below a threshold and I got nearly 3 grand back from the ATO.

    1. Sceptic Tank Silver badge
      Paris Hilton

      Re: Happened to me as well

      Not sure on the details. But you are saying that they overpaid you $2,500, you never reported it, and now you are upset because they're asking for their money back?

  5. herman

    Well, the IBM CEO has to finance his new yacht somehow.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      "Well, the IBM CEO has to finance his new yacht somehow."

      Well at least it being IBM, they have plenty of boat anchors in the warehouse....

  6. Ian Joyner Bronze badge

    Read Delamarter's Big Blue: IBM's Use and Abuse of Power

    http://library.alibris.com/Big-Blue-IBMs-Use-and-Abuse-of-Power-Richard-Thomas-Delamarter/book/689875

  7. theExecutive

    Overpaid, but still got 0 in last paycheck

    Think it as the month before your not classed as leaving, so if you take all holidays in your leaving month, then you owe them for holidays you should not have got.

    I think they should employ some clown no cloud consultants to look at this loophole before any RA action..

  8. Medixstiff

    Queensland's lawyers are going to have a field day with this news that IBM's own payroll system is screwed. The opening arguments should be fun.

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon

Other stories you might like