It was a blue Tuesday for workers at both IBM and Intel, as they learned they will face layoffs in the next few months.
IBM plans to eliminate about 1,300 positions, though an IBM spokesperson declined confirmation of this number.
The Alliance at IBM, a union organization affiliated with the Communication Workers of America, says it is trying to organize affected workers.
Lee Conrad, national coordinator of Alliance at IBM, explains that more job cuts are coming.
“Maybe tomorrow, probably May through June. Our sources are telling us 8,000 to 10,000 workers, and probably Global Services will be the biggest hit. What’s driving this is offshoring,” says Conrad.
He explains that his organization is working to expose the truth about these layoffs to help to “get this out so there is transparency in job cuts. What it means for the industry is you have a whole segment of IBM workers whose morale is being trashed.”
He adds, “Jobs are being offshored. We know there are good employees, but if IBM can’t treat them properly, then maybe someone else should.”
According to Conrad, the workers can either find a similar job within IBM or receive a severance package.
The Alliance at IBM say the cuts will include workers in Raleigh, North Carolina, and at the New York headquarters, though other locations, such as Poughkeepsie, New York, and Boulder, Colorado, may be affected.
“The 1,315 cuts are nationwide. We have received from employees the ‘resource action’ package. Every person selected for termination receives this by law. It’s the OWBPA, or the Older Worker Benefit Protection Act,” says Conrad.
“It lists why the jobs are being eliminated, then breaks it down into different segments of the unit, with occupational title, age of person selected, and number of people within that. There are no names associated, just ages and job titles. No one knows who’s going until someone spills the beans,” he says.
Conrad says the internal memo lists the following specific work units affected: Server Systems Operations; Technology Integration & Management; Global Infrastructure & Resource Management; Americas Delivery Engagement Support; Security, Asset and Risk Management Americas; Global Network Services Delivery; Industrial Sector Delivery; Financial Services Sector Delivery; Distribution Sector Delivery; Communications Sector Delivery; and IBM Global Account Delivery.
Intel Shrinks in New Mexico
In other tech layoff news, starting this August, 1,000 or more workers will be laid off from Intel’s Rio Rancho, New Mexico plant. That facility manufactures computer chips, and currently employs about 5,000 people.
An Intel spokesperson says affected employees will be offered severance packages or can search for other jobs within Intel.
Most of the cuts will be at the “Fab 11” plant, affecting engineers and technicians who make computer components using 200-millimeter silicon wafers. Intel has said it plans to end production of this technology.
According to the company, the severance package includes time for service worked or a two-month paid job-search period for jobs elsewhere within the company.
Late last year, CEO Paul Otellini publicly stated his plans to shrink the workforce from 102,000 to 92,000 and to make the company leaner.
In April, Intel announced its Q1 results, indicating that it had reached its goal — one quarter ahead of schedule — of reducing the workforce to approximately 92,000 people.