Today, IBM announced that it will be laying off an unspecified number of employees. Bloomberg reports that job cuts will affect several thousands of employees and offices across the US. And the company's employee headcount on LinkedIn is beginning to fall in step.
In January, we reported that IBM ($IBM) slowed US job postings while bouncing back with hiring rates in China. Now, as the Coronavirus pandemic unfolds, the computer giant has cut their job postings in half.
But rather than placing full blame on Coronavirus’ economic impact, the company says the layoffs are partially due to plans of restructuring. According to TechCrunch, the company “framed it in terms of replacing people with more needed skills as it tries to regroup under new CEO Arvind Krishna.” IBM has yet to provide details regarding the locations or departments of the employees affected.
An IBM spokesperson has been responding to queries with the following statement: “IBM’s work in a highly competitive marketplace requires flexibility to constantly remix to high-value skills, and our workforce decisions are made in the long-term interests of our business.”
The company employs more than 300,000 people worldwide, and this is the first big round of layoffs since last June when IBM cut roughly 1,000 jobs. IBM will offer subsidized medical coverage to all affected US employees through next June.
About the Data:
Thinknum tracks companies using the information they post online - jobs, social and web traffic, product sales, and app ratings - and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue, and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales.
