- Tech giant IBM plans to cut around 1 in 5 jobs across Europe, sources close to the matter told Bloomberg on Wednesday.
- About 10,000 jobs face the axe, they said.
- The UK and Germany will see the most job cuts, the sources said, and roles in its legacy managed-infrastructure IT services business are most at risk.
- An IBM spokesperson told the publication that its staffing decisions “are made to provide the best support to our customers in adopting an open hybrid cloud platform and AI capabilities.”
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Tech giant IBM is planning to cut about 10,000 jobs in Europe, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.
The cuts will affect around 1 in 5 staff in the region, sources close to the matter told the publication.
The UK and Germany will see the most job cuts, but staff in Poland, Slovakia, Italy, and Belgium will also lose their job, they said.
The jobs cuts will lower costs at IBM’s services unit, which has seen sluggish growth, they added.
Roles in IBM’s legacy managed-infrastructure IT services business are most at risk from the cuts, the sources said. In October, IBM announced plans to spin off the unit by the end of 2021 so it can focus on building its cloud and AI division.
IBM announced the cuts during a meeting with European labor representatives in November, a union officer told Bloomberg.
The job cuts should be completed by the mid-2021, one of the sources told Bloomberg.
An IBM spokesperson told the publication that its staffing decisions "are made to provide the best support to our customers in adopting an open hybrid cloud platform and AI capabilities."
"We also continue to make significant investments in training and skills development for IBMers to best meet the needs of our customers," the spokesperson added.
IBM did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
In the quarter to September 30, IBM recorded $17.6 billion in total revenue, a drop of around 2.5% year-on-year.