IBM to UK staff: Get ready for another game of musical chairs

Consultation?

Is that like the consultation on pensions a few years back where they told the staff what was going to happen at the beginning of the "consultation" period?

Cut staff levels to zero for maximum profit with no costs!!

Of course, there will be no-one to do any work, but that's how spreadsheet-monkey-managers think cost and profit are maintained, by cutting the people who do any real work.

Start by cutting the hundreds of millions of $$ from the Execs salary and bonus first, then people might take this 'efficiency saving' plan as being fair.

They still don't get it.

When you hire somebody who is good at their job, they are there and they stay there and you know them and they do the work.

When you outsource to somebody else, who might outsource to somebody even elser, the person you get at first might be good, and then that person will move on and be replaced by somebody else who might be not as good, who might in fact be a total plonker but you are still paying.

But of course if you're an exec and you improve the financial bottom line, you get your promotion and move out of the danger zone before the system is compromised by the plonkers you hired to cut expenses. Somebody else gets to pick up the pieces.

So, which is it?

IBM is about to fling another bunch of Technical Services Support staffers down the redundancy chute [...] In a letter to permanent employees...

Never mind; we all know there's no such thing as a permanent employee, unless you're talking about the public sector.

Ask Watson

I wonder if they have ever asked Watson to drill down into their "BIG data" and find a new business model that works. Unlike the last 8 or 10.

I think they know better then to try that, I can see it now.

Ginni: Hello Watson.

Watson: Hello Boss.

Ginni: Watson, Can you root around in our BIG data and see if there is anything salvageable and then develop a business plan to match?

Watson: Of course Watson Can.

Ginni: How long will this take?

Watson estimates the time till Hell Freezes Over to be 1.6 million years.

As an ex-IBMer of 16 years, one thing I know is that any current IBMer who hasn't had a good solid think about when they will be let go and at least has some idea of what they'll do about it is a fool. The chances are just too high to let it come as a surprise.

But in a business where they expect 80% of their staff to be vastly remote from the customer (i.e. India) to not permit technological solutions to allow remote work is astonishing. Only telecommuting will set us free from big city housing prices. It's been promised for 50 years yet companies like IBM insist on collocation. If sitting together in a big room is so damn important why was my manager (whom I never met) based in a city 1,000 kilometers away? Some exec watched something on Discovery channel about communications and kapow, global policy, I suspect. Still! I guess 14 levels of management can't be wrong.

Not surprised

IBM are living off past reputation, and the dying breed of CTO's who know more about golf than tech. To coin a phrase they have become all talk and no action.

I still shudder when I hear the words websphere.

What's this years business plan?

So last year the plan was for 80% outsourced in 2017, what is the plan to cut costs next year raise it to 90% these plans only have one direction.

Also the no remote workers thing is in more than just the US.

Reality is Uber, Facebook, Twitter, Google etc. the big guys don't use IBM. IBM can't move at their speed and has not been at the front of tech for years.

Neverending

I did 15 years with IBM, at least half of that with the axe hanging over me. Very glad to be out of there, despite really learning my trade there, and working with some amazing engineers.

Watching really great colleagues disappearing in redundancy waves was really dispiriting - but when I started in the late 90's it was a great place to work.

Unions..

IBM does not recognise any union in the UK

Isn't this what CAC is for?

Here's a multinational getting UK government contracts that apparently doesn't recognise UK employment law? And nobody in their employ seemingly thought to do anything about that?

Well, the board need to keep topping up their meagre salaries somehow

http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/insiderTrading?symbol=IBM

Less than 100 people affected.

The fact that the consultation is only 30 days means that the effected number of employees is between 20 and 99 (source: https://www.gov.uk/redundant-your-rights/consultation). As a current IBMer (hence AC) I feel sorry for those who may to lose their jobs however this is really just a small number of people compared to the many thousands who work for IBM in the UK. As IBM changes it's business strategy I unfortunately expect that this will happen on a regular basis. With a bit of luck many of those effected will find roles in the many openings that currently exist in the newer business units. While this is a thoroughly unpleasant process, I have no doubt that IBM would not exist today if they had not at least attempted to change!