Dive Brief:
- International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) may be continuing its workforce slicing, but at the same time, the technology giant is hiring too, according to the Wall Street Journal.
- The Journal reports that IBM would not comment on overall cuts (a new round of job cuts was announced in April), but Sanford Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi told the newspaper that total layoffs could affect more than 14,000 jobs in North Carolina, New York City, Poughkeepsie, NY, and Boulder, CO. Some jobs are headed for India and Costa Rica, workers affected by the layoffs told the Journal.
- The job cuts are happening amid four straight years of declining revenues, the Journal reports, adding that cloud computing is affecting the company’s software and services business.
Dive Insight:
The Journal explains that IBM had already said it would partially remake its workforce to meet cloud services and data analysis growth, and it could replace most of those laid off by year's end. For example, IBM told the Journal it had more than 20,000 jobs currently open. IBM’s last round of layoffs, which affected less than 5,000 employees, came in March.
Earlier in the week, IBM, which had a total workforce was 377,757 at the end of 2015, announced it would close its 70-acre Somers, NY, campus and move those jobs to a facility in North Castle, NY.
It's an interesting trend, layoffs and hiring simultaneously, likely dictated by the changing talent needs in technology.