BERLIN: International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) is reportedly planning to lay off nearly 18% of its workforce in Germany over the next two years. The news was first reported by German business weekly magazine WirtschaftsWoche a while earlier. Around 3,000 jobs are reportedly being cut from IBM’s operations in Germany, currently employing 16,500 people.
The report cited Bert Stach, a labor union representative who was on the supervisory board of IBM Deutscheland. Almost 2500 of the jobs being slashed have been ‘relatively’ decided. It is still unclear as to when these layoffs will be conducted, and if they will be through pink slips or voluntarily resignations.
Earlier this year, IBM was rumored to initiate a round of layoffs, as part of a broader restructuring program, that lead to a workforce rebalancing charge of several hundred million dollars. IBM shares are up 1% in today’s trading session.
