back to article IBM offers Trump its ideas to Make America Great Again

Big Blue's big boss, Ginni Rometty, is hoping to dance on the tightrope that Big Orange has brought to the White House. Trump's unexpected election puts the technology industry in a tight spot, because many associate it with the economic conditions Trump exploited throughout his campaign. Globalisation demonised as a destroyer …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    PS and we'll cut your census costs and run that for you too, no problem!

    1. Tomato42
      Stop

      isn't that Facebook's job?

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Oh look

    a grown up.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      @AC Re: Oh look

      Sorry?

      Look, here's a dirty little secret.

      IBM under Rometty has shifted their business model.

      They need to higher skilled work force that can be found in the US and they are already hiring those skilled workers. At the same time... they can't compete in the Offshore / Onshore model against the Indian firms... as well as some customers are starting to shift back to local sourcing talent. So Rometty is already bringing back the jobs to the US. They are also turfing those who they deem too expensive to train up and are hiring already skilled workers. Hint: Where will you find the most Scala developers who know Big Data? (Really know it?)

      So if Trump does keep his promise on dropping the corporate tax... its a good thing all around. No more double dutch turd sandwiches ...

      But with respect to Rometty's message? Meh. Jumping on the Bandwagon is just for show... good PR. She'd be doing the same thing if Clinton won too. Just the messaging would have changed.

      1. earl grey
        Flame

        Re: @AC Oh look

        "Sorry?

        Look, here's a dirty little secret.

        IBM under Rometty has shifted their business model."

        IBM under Rometty has shafted their employees over and over and over and ...well, you get it.

        Older - you're shafted. Experienced - you're shafted Top of your frozen pay grade - you're shafted.

        She's a wonder....bint!

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    ...and in one years time...

    ...IBM reserves the right to Resource Action the population of the USA if the cost is greater that that quoted in the original tender, all work to be performed in eastern Europe and India as the low cost option...

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Postcard from the edge

    Reading the comments on the internal blog where this letter was posted is a joy, as it is a tidal wave of vacuous sycophancy. How many variations on single sentence "Thank you for sharing this great message" posts can IBM generate? An awful lot. Happens every time anyone very senior posts anything at all. Absolutely pointless use of social media. It's almost tempting to leave a comment along the lines of "Hold on Ginni - didn't Trump say he was thinking of punishing IBM for offshoring all those American jobs to India?" just to see if anyone notices in among all the brown-nosing guff that everyone else posts.

    The other common annoyance is that this letter was announced internally with a company-wide email that simply said "look at this blog". If you're going to send an email to the whole company, you might as well put the actual letter in it. All senior managers do the same thing now - they have been told that they are rated on "social", so when they have something to announce, they put it on a blog then email everyone with the message to "come see this great announcement on my blog" to drive stats up. As a result, I now know even less about what's going on in the company because I'm damned if I'm going to fire up a VPN connection to read their crappy blog when they could have just put their announcement in the email they just sent out.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Postcard from the edge

      I'm proud to have received a formal written warning for writing a factually accurate, polite but dissenting post on an internal IBM forum. Toe the line OR ELSE was the message.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Postcard from the edge

      Hi AC. Thanks for providing a nice reminder of one of the reasons I no longer work for IBM. I have to admit I did enjoy reading those blogs, particularly when someone finally gives in and says "FFS are you guys for real? This is a disaster" or similar. I have to make do with following IBM on LinkedIn, where there are various comments, some apparently genuine, from people saying things like "so proud to be an IBMer" in response to a mundane photograph of an apparently "cool" office.

      Rommety is a bit rich for trying to kiss Trump's backside. IBM is a perfect example of what people don't like, including plenty of those who weren't pushed to vote Trump. The company is run entirely for the benefit of Wall Street, and the execs at the top of the company. Sites in the US have been run down or shut entirely, with jobs moving to cheaper countries. The company is being bled dry and the biggest losers are those ordinary Americans whose jobs and towns have been destroyed by Rommety and co.

      Having said that, I'm lucky enough to live in a country where, for now at least, workers do have some rights, and I took compensation when I left. I'm also lucky to have skills (despite IBM) so now earn more than I did.

      That said, Trump's rhetoric and past record clash entirely: he couldn't give a shit about the little guy.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Postcard from the edge

        https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-19/iowa-spent-50-million-to-lure-ibm-then-the-firings-started

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Postcard from the edge

      "How many variations on single sentence "Thank you for sharing this great message" posts can IBM generate? An awful lot. Happens every time anyone very senior posts anything at all. Absolutely pointless "

      As former IBMer, I can only confirm this behaviour - but I will also add, that in my local (north UK) office many employees had seen thru these a-licking comments. Most, grind-stone (non-management), types in IBM UK see the light and are trying to get out with a decent pay-off. Good luck to them all. Ginny is doing a fantastic job, just as the Capt of the Titantic did!

  5. James 51

    Technology and fraud analytics – plus cybersecurity – will save $1 trillion

    Over what time frame? If it is a year that's quite a saving (about 30% or there abouts). If it's over a hundred years, less impressive.

  6. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

    IBM is the same as Drump

    IBM == I've been mugged

    Donald will do the same to America.

    IMHO, he'll emerge from the Presidency without paying any tax and several times richer than now yet he says that he'll draw no salary not that $400K/year is a salary that any decent sized Public company would accept but still makes the £170K out PM gets look like a bargain (and they'll pay most of it at 50% tax on it)

  7. AndyS

    >"...build intelligent – and secure – roads, bridges... "

    Oh, I thought Chris Christie had been sacked? Shame, he know a thing or two about clever management of bridges.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Sycophantic posts galore

    As another 'insider', the mountain of sycophantic posts that follow ANY management announcement makes keeping food down difficult, but this one could work. IBM has been a bully and a menace in the US workforce, and if Trump could 'reign' them in, and 'make' them hire more Amuricans, that would just how what a good president he is, a great president - probably the best.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "will free up capital that companies of all sizes *can* reinvest"

    IBM said *can*. Not *will*. Yes, we can. But will we? Unless any law to repatriate capitals explicitly forbids (or at least limits) buy-backs or the like, boards are not going to funnel money into hires and R&D.

    And I really find "company run" (or almost...) schools a little disturbing. Looks to me just a different way to enforce a Soviet-like system, where you know from cradle what your life will be...

    1. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

      Re: "will free up capital that companies of all sizes *can* reinvest"

      " For all you'll ever needTM " - The Goliath Corporation

  10. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

    "Before the election, many tech companies scoffed at the Trump campaign – or warned against it – which makes a rapprochement inevitable, and it's into this environment that Rometty has penned an open letter to the president-elect offering five policy suggestions from IBM."

    So, did the others pick IBM? Did IBM draw the shortest straw?

    Or is this just IBM's opportunistic self, pushing through the croud to be the first at the door?

  11. Nigel Whitfield.

    Well, if Trump's wanting someone to help him register all the followers of a particular religion, I'm sure IBM will be happy to bring out their expertise.

  12. CustardGannet
    Coat

    My suggestion :

    Ban pre-shredded cheese.

    Make America grate again !

  13. Grifter

    "All of us at IBM share your gratitude and devotion to the men, women and families who serve our country."

    I sincerely hope not, considering he has had nothing but scorn and derisiveness for them, like mccain, and khan. Fuck you IBM guy, for this fucking bullshit statement.

  14. Mark 85

    Pushing IoT and "intelligent things" she is.

    Just no... never... There's enough security holes and nightmares as it is. Why make more?

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