According to Silicon Republic, IBM is expected to lay off thousands of employees from its global workforce of roughly 270,000 people. The company confirmed it’s executing an action impacting a “low single-digit percentage” of its workforce in the fourth quarter, which could translate to thousands of jobs given IBM’s size. While specific numbers aren’t confirmed, some sources suggest cuts could affect up to 50% of certain divisions. The layoffs come as IBM shifts focus toward higher-growth software and services. A spokesperson noted that while US-based workers will likely be impacted, overall employment figures should remain “flat year over year.” This follows similar announcements from Amazon planning to cut up to 30,000 corporate positions and Meta eliminating around 600 jobs from its Superintelligence Labs.
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The Bigger Picture in Tech
Here’s the thing – this isn’t just an IBM story. We’re seeing a pattern across big tech that’s hard to ignore. Amazon’s planning massive cuts, Meta’s trimming staff despite heavy AI hiring, and now IBM joins the club. It feels like we’re watching the tech industry collectively catch its breath after the pandemic hiring spree.
Remember when every tech company was scrambling to hire during COVID? They were basically throwing money at anyone who could code. Now we’re seeing the hangover from that hiring binge. Companies are realizing they over-hired and need to rightsize their operations. But here’s what’s interesting – they’re not cutting across the board equally. They’re being strategic about which parts of the business get trimmed.
IBM’s Software Pivot
IBM’s cuts tell us something important about where the company thinks its future lies. They’re clearly doubling down on software and services while potentially scaling back elsewhere. This makes sense when you consider where the profit margins are in tech today. Hardware’s become increasingly commoditized, while software and services offer better recurring revenue streams.
But is this shift happening fast enough? IBM has been trying to reinvent itself for years, moving away from its legacy hardware roots. The company’s been talking about cloud and AI transformation forever. These layoffs suggest they’re still in the middle of that painful transition. They’re basically pruning the parts of the business that don’t align with their future direction.
What Comes Next?
So where does this leave the thousands of people who might be affected? The tech job market isn’t what it was a year ago, that’s for sure. But skilled tech workers still have options – they just might not be at the giant corporations that were hiring like crazy during the pandemic.
The real question is whether this is just a temporary correction or the start of a longer-term trend. I suspect we’ll see more of these “strategic workforce rebalancings” throughout 2024 as companies continue to adjust to post-pandemic realities and economic uncertainty. The days of endless growth and hiring in tech might be over, at least for now.
