IBM sets layoffs in North America division
NEW YORK, Nov 14 (Reuters) - International Business Machines Corp will
lay off several hundred employees at its North
America division, the company said on Friday.
A spokesman at IBM said employees in the division had been notified of
the move on Thursday in a memo from general
manager John W. Thompson.
Sources familiar with the move said IBM expected to cut 500-600 staff
from its 20,000 member North America sales and
distribution force as a result of the move.
The division's layoffs come after several other IBM groups announced
voluntary buyout packages in an attempt to trim payrolls
and eliminate staffing imbalances that arose as the company's business
model changed.
Last week, IBM's Lotus Development unit said it would consolidate
development of its SmartSuite software into one site in
Cambridge, Mass.
According to the internal memo, the North America division opted against
voluntary buyouts because previous headcount
reductions left it unable to adopt the ``unfocused'' cuts that would
result from such an offer.
Among the main shifts, the division will also realign its server sales
approach and simplify its organizational approach to
eliminate an internal emphasis on geography.
IBM has said its overall restructuring would not result in any charges
and would be paid for out of an annual expense budget of
about $800 million allocated to such efforts.