U.S. locations keep losing people while overseas locations keep adding people. We're being replaced with a cheaper and usually not as skilled workforce and nobody seems to care. I wouldn't be surprised if at some point in the future 95 percent of IBM employees don't speak English as their first language.
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falling productivity numbers are because of IBM's horrendous worldwide human relations practices
The beatings will continue until morale improves.
Unfortunately, analysts don't look at productivity numbers any more.
Consider that a 2020 IBM employee produced 50% less profit and 50% less revenue than an employee in 1999! It is part of the old adage, you get what you pay for. And to be clear, this isn't a United States employee vs. anyone else working anywhere else in the world; the falling productivity numbers are because of IBM's horrendous worldwide human relations practices. These practices make IBM the least productive of all corporations in the IT business anywhere in the world.
This is a look at Arvind Krishna's sales and profit performance within a two-decade historical perspective.
- Krishna 2020 Profit Productivity: Down 40%
- Krishna & Rometty 2012–20 Profit Productivity: Down 62% from a 2013 high
- IBM Hit a Profit Productivity Brick Wall in 2013
- Krishna, Rometty, Palmisano & Gerstner 2000–20 Profit Productivity: Down 56%
https://www.discerningreaders.com/arvind-krishna-first-year-revenue-profit-productivity-performance.html
With the development of much shorter supply chains, commodity labor became something that could be offshored to lower labor rate countries. Now that bandwidth and educational levels have caught up in third world countries, skilled workforces are following the labor offshore as it doesn’t matter where you live anymore to do your job. It’s a rush to the bottom for low cost.
That's not exactly precise. Your skills are being replaced, now you need to exercise those Powerpoint and Excel skills. Those technical skills are gone to India or some cheap rate places.
So if you can't or refuse to do the bu-----t work (baffle with bu-----t Powerpoint, Excel "modelling", or worse Scrum or agile mumbo jumbo), you have no place here.
“ IBM is paying for certifications and classes for India/LA resources only” ummm that’s not even close to true. I’ve personally gotten 3 classes plus certifications paid by IBM in Canada. I know of at least 8 other people in my department who have too.
I suspect each division of IBM will move toward a different NA number
GBS will mimic Kyndryl or approx 8% of 140k
SW will aim for 25% of 55k
Infrastructure will aim for 35% of 30k
That nets to 11k + 14k + 10k or 35k for NA
Are you just waking up after a 20-year slumber? This has been going on for a while now.
Are you aware IBM is paying for certifications and classes for India/LA resources only? Are you also aware even though you're in a similar group, you're not eligible for those resources? They are only for your replacements!!!
We used to have a highly skilled international team with people from all over the world. That was because we spent money and time training everyone and empowering everyone, and the team stayed together for years so we know each other's way of working, and we communicated as a team. If management isn't willing to put in the investment to elevate their teams and get them the proper skills and continue to grow them, then it doesn't matter where they put the jobs - the same lame-duck teams can exist in the US without skills, English-speaking or not.
And then all the die hard bluebird middle management in the US and Europe who think that when their benevolent overlords in Armonk retire they will promote them for their loyalty, only to find that Armonk is promoting their 3rd world replacements instead. It’s already happening in GBS and it’s glorious to watch.
Good, let our replacements deal with tools that don’t work.
Job market is white hot now.
I would guess the goal for IBM and most other major organizations is what Kyndryl announced for their staffing. NA head count in Kyndryl was just slightly under 8% of their total worldwide head count. Accenture and other big firms have adopted almost the exact same model.
I worked at IBM for 20 years in the US. This has been going on for awhile. Lot's of hiring from Eastern Europe. Good english skills but low in experience. But they work cheap (plus, they will leave for a better paying job at the drop of a hat). Many came from Bulgaria.
My Western European colleagues get low skilled workers from Poland and Egypt.
In Enterprise, India was walled off to Asia, including China, but not Japan. When I left, they started supporting the Western countries despite the accent difficulties.
Nothing against any of these folks, but that is where the jobs are going.