IBM cuts 3,900 jobs in latest round of big tech layoffs

IBM is firing approximately 1.4% of its total workforce, with the cuts coming from its IT services and healthcare groups.

Following major layoffs from Amazon, Spotify, plus Microsoft and Google, IBM has announced its financial earnings, and revealed the redundancies.

According to the Wall Street Journal, IBM sales were flat in Q4, and reported revenue was down over $1 billion because of the strength of the US dollar.

Nonetheless, IBM posted a net income figure of $2.71 billion, higher than the $2.33 billion from the same period in 2021. Revenue was down, however, at $16.69 billion compared to $16.7 billion in the previous year.

That fractionally lower figure was also significantly better than analysts had expected. The average of analysts polled and predicted $16.15 billion in revenue.

Then, too, IBM's software division rose 2.8% to $7.3 billion. The company's infrastructure work rose 1.6% to $4.5 billion, and its consulting revenue rose 0.5% to $4.8 billion.

IBM's financing division dropped 0.4% to $200 million, however.

The approximately 3,900 jobs are to come from IBM's healthcare divestiture, and also the Kyndryl Holdings IT services business that was spun off in 2022.

While IBM did not discuss the reasons for its head count reduction, other big tech firms have cited both inflation and a return to pre-pandemic demand.

So far Apple has chiefly managed to avoid major layoffs, although it has dropped an unspecified number of retail staff working for it in stores such as Best Buy. Previously Tim Cook has said that Apple is slowing down its hiring, and "being deliberate" about how it recruits.

11 Comments

darkvader 1146 comments · 15 Years

About 1 year ago

"Profits are up! What should we do about that?"

"I know, let's fire the people who made it happen!"

DAalseth 3033 comments · 6 Years

What’s interesting in all of these layoffs is what’s being cut. A lot of these companies added people during covid, but it mostly isn’t a case of last in first out. No, MS cut big parts of their VR group, Amazon, gutted their Alexa group, IBM cuts are “ from IBM's healthcare divestiture, and also the Kyndryl Holdings IT services business that was spun off in 2022.” These are targeted cuts to money losing units. Covid gave a lot of companies the chance to take stock, and examine their units with a clear eye to what was working and what wasn’t.

The era of pie in the sky concepts is over.

danox 3395 comments · 11 Years

IBM are they still around? slowly sinking into the tech sunset.

cgWerks 2947 comments · 8 Years

darkvader said:

"Profits are up! What should we do about that?"
"I know, let's fire the people who made it happen!"

I’d take heed. I think they are just preparing for what they expect to be coming, and probably taking advantage of the situation to do some house-cleaning/trimming.

DAalseth said:

… The era of pie in the sky concepts is over.

Yep, the ‘free money’ driving lots of things is now gone. Now we pay the piper. The real question (looking historically), is whether we’re just going to get *another* major devaluation of our fiat, or whether this one will trip the empire-fall protocol. The Keynesian farce is about to be put to the test.

mikethemartian 1485 comments · 18 Years

danox said:

IBM are they still around? slowly sinking into the tech sunset.

When Apple was releasing the original Mac, IBM was inventing quantum key distribution and still to this day is one of the leaders of bleeding edge technology in the field. But since they don’t make phones in Midnight blue with cute emojis and other shiny consumer products you think they are obsolete.