Recession forces IBM to sack 15,600 workers

By Our Corporate Bureau | 14 Aug 2002

New York: IBM has revealed that it is in the process of cutting more than 15,600 jobs, or 5 per cent of its workforce. The total layoff figures, which IBM never announced publicly, appeared in a filing with the Federal Securities and Exchange Commission. Employees losing their jobs were notified in several batches during the second quarter, which ended 30 June 2002.

The majority of the jobs lost were in the global services unit, with some workers also laid off in its servers and software businesses. A further batch of layoffs dismissed 1,400 workers from the company''s Microelectronics division, which manufactures semiconductors.

“The workforce reductions are intended to drive productivity and efficiency throughout the company,” says IBM spokeswoman Carol Makovich.

IBM blames the cuts on “the recent decline in corporate spending on technology services. By September 30, when most of the laid-off workers are expected to have departed, IBM’s workforce will have been cut from 320,000 to around 305,000,” says Makovich.

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