The layoffs, which have been rumoured to affect thousands of people, have not been announced by IBM.

One staff member said that the whole thing was being done on the QT and managers doing the firing were required to sign an NDA.  The job cuts have been directed mainly at senior-level programmers, sales, and support.

Once again, those targeted are in the 50-55 age bracket with 20-24 years of seniority. This is despite numerous past and ongoing age discrimination lawsuits.

Officially, IBM said that the company was experiencing a “workforce rebalancing charge” and only a “very low single-digit percentage of IBM’s global workforce” would be affected.

The company said that it expects to end 2024 at roughly the same level of employment as it had in January. However, it appears that many of these roles are going to India.

Last year, CEO Arvind Krishna said IBM expected to replace around 7,800 jobs with AI, though no specific time frame was provided.