Thread regarding IBM layoffs

Too much complaining

Work is not meant to be fun, it’s just how we pay the bills and support our families. I stopped expecting excitement and focus on the basics instead. Once you accept that, the stress about being unhappy at work drops a lot.

by
| 3247 views | | 29 replies (last August 20) | Reply
Post ID: @OP+1k2w5fhcn

29 replies (most recent on top)

@qr

or IBM AI could write a descriptive paper on the subject in graphic detail.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @r1+1k2w5fhcn

Or maybe RT the CS can write a nice essay about how he became so proficient in his specialty.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @qr+1k2w5fhcn

@k6

Put on your thinking cap and try really hard now. Do you really see this employee base going above and beyond for IBM?

The world better look for alternative sourcing because quality products and guidance aren't happening here.

But thanks for the mild chuckle this morning.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @k7+1k2w5fhcn

Well I agree with @OP. Too much complaining! And homophobia to boot. Co-----cker, dropping the soap, come on now. What grade are we in? Everyone should get to work. The world desperately needs IBM products and guidance.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @k6+1k2w5fhcn

Well IBM has not had very impressive revenue growth. Cost cutting to stay afloat is not sustainable in the long run. Why execs like Arvind are getting fat bonuses is unbelievable. The board is just as inept as IBM execs

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @k5+1k2w5fhcn

@OP

So tough guy, what's the exact amount of complaining that's acceptable to you?

Please publish a comprehensive list, inclusive of all factors, so we all can conform to your expectations.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @jy+1k2w5fhcn

@j3

You hit the nail on the head. All of these consultancies are _poison and they consistently tell clients to do one thing, while they do another for themselves.

McKinsey is the one that "recommended" US companies to go manufacture in _China and look the issues with supply chains and security they created. The entire world, not even just us, became a dumpster of their low quality, cheap products, filled with toxins (I'm not exaggerating, they are contaminated with heavy metals and such, due to their production standards).

Now the McKinseys are pushing the AK's friends, family and neighbors "strategy". Soon enough they will propose to implement a cast system in Bollywood of America.

I don't even know what good HR does, they are just ornaments making good money for nothing. CHROs (or whatever they get called this week) are useless, well, not to management, but I wonder what morals they have, because they talk one talk and then turn around and do another. Yes, I'm not silly, I know they are all the same. However, with HR I do feel they really sell their souls, because I presume they go to study cr-p with some sort of "moral compass" to then come to their jobs and do nothing that has anything to do with that, but they keep talking as if, to then behave like people are just nothing. Hypocrites.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @jj+1k2w5fhcn

@g7

if you're stuck as a band 7 now and are still around for another year or so, you can expect band compression where the corrupt IBM management will "downsize you to a band 6" and tell you that you're getting overpaid in your "new" band. That's the IBM way learned from McKinsey. They claw back the salaries from the little guys, but Alvind, Krapanaugh and Rob the Slob get the big bucks for their media appearances.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @j3+1k2w5fhcn

I worked there 18 years. The disregard and disrespect of the average employee was palpable for so many years. Not that you need to be coddled and told your great employee every day, but they’re almost was a distain for employees. We were just numbers on a spreadsheet. Treated like children with phony, transparent accolades . While they destroyed morale day after day with massive layoffs. Severely under resource projects . While adding more on your plate . What that culture does is make a whole lot of people not care about their jobs. Not care about quality. Have no loyalty.
The philosophy to keep everybody on edge , because you could be next. We pick people at random. Doesn’t matter how good you are ,how well you’re liked ,how much you accomplish. If you’re of a certain age , and make a certain wage. You could be out the door with three months severance after 30 years of service. I’m not bitter really . I left on my own . This is just reality. As someone said earlier. This is no way to build a successful company. Good luck to all of you who remain.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @gg+1k2w5fhcn

Only way to get ahead at IBM is to upskill your CS skills. Ask RT. Only way to get a head at IBM is to give it.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @g8+1k2w5fhcn

@fq

Not in IBM

I Learned more programming languages Watson X and other programs

Think 40? I do at least Think 75 every year and I’m still stuck as a band 7

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @g7+1k2w5fhcn

After almost 4 decades of the SOS at IBM, it's safe to say now that everyone who remains at the company is there with clear eyes and clear minds. Deception and game playing was a good excuse 30 or even 20 years ago, but nowadays there isn't a single employee that isn't aware of what's going on.

Those who want to leave can leave. Not everybody will do so. Some people are in rough situations that make it easier for them to stay than leave. Some people really are having "a good time" at IBM. And some, like the OP, aren't looking for anything beyond a paycheck "to pay the bills and support their families".

For everyone still with the company, I wish you well. Not everyone was willing to stay with the company, and a lot of employees were forced out for one reason or another. Hopefully, those that departed have at least one good memory of their tenure at IBM...I spent 16 years there, and it would be most unfortunate if I couldn't find even one good thing to say about the place or its people.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @fz+1k2w5fhcn

@fr Isn't it amazing how every quarter the headline is "IBM beat Revenues, IBM beat earnings, GenAI business going to the moon, everything is great!" Stock pops the next day. Then over next couple of weeks the analysts figure out it was all financial engineering and rah rah cheerleading and the actual results are terrible so stock plummets.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @fw+1k2w5fhcn

@fr

AK figured, "if they let Ginni _bs and fool all of them for such a long time (almost a decade) and they increased her pay despite of her performance, hey, I can _bs too"....

Such a 'good learner'....

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @fv+1k2w5fhcn

@fp

They want them all d-mb and just play the same politics they love at the top?

"Don't ask, just play the game well" - like a cast system... you know... AK knows a lot about that....

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @ft+1k2w5fhcn

@fp

UPskilled!

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @fq+1k2w5fhcn

@fk

Unskilled employees are more valuable and compensated as such, at annual review time, right?

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @fp+1k2w5fhcn

@em, you took everything out of context on what I was saying. Name calling ticks me off and shows complete ignorance. I did not say working hard at IBM is fun. IBM has ruined that with layoffs and PIPs. Working hard is general can bring a sense of accomplishment when you see you have successfully completed a project or sale or whatever you job is , IBM has clearly ruined that with how they treat us ground floor employees as many other companies have done. But yes, I have worked at IBM and other large fortune 100 companies. Retired now but work gave me an identity and I came from a poor family so I had to work hard to make ends meet and when I was successful and recognized for that effort, work became enjoyable. But not always due to having to make family sacrifices or my own health.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @fn+1k2w5fhcn

I know IBM isn’t running a charity and they’re not rescuing puppies , however the constant demand for upskilling from Alvind and especially that other windbag Krabanaugh is annoying

Do you think Krabanaugh has improved his skills ? All he knows how to do is take numbers from a spreadsheet and tell managers where to cut

Sure Alvind is super smart but he’s got no people skills

He’s an Arrogant Son of a biscuit

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @fk+1k2w5fhcn

@OP

Apologies in advance for my response below.

This is probably the most _s_t_u_p_id and dysfunctional post I've ever read. "Oh, just go to work, accept anything like a mo--n, they are paying you, you are so lucky to even have a job, what do you want, just shut up and do work and that's it, that's all". NO COMPANY ever succeeded with employees like you.

No human being feels good and has a sense of dignity acting the way you "propose".

We don't live in the dark ages anymore.

People have the right to express their feelings and frustrations.

I know you probably meant well, so do I.

Bless you.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @fb+1k2w5fhcn

@ez Very, VERY well put!

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @f7+1k2w5fhcn

The problem, @OP, is that working at IBM is like taking a group shower in prison. And through no fault of your own, you've constantly dropped the soap.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @ez+1k2w5fhcn

@em

Also inflate the stock price
They want $300

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @es+1k2w5fhcn

@e6

I've never, not once, felt good about working hard for IBM.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @ec+1k2w5fhcn

Yes but when you reach that sense of accomplishment after working hard, you feel good and work becomes fun when you feel appreciated and successful. Fear of constant layoffs, aka RAs, PIPs, etc take away from that excitement.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @e6+1k2w5fhcn

@OP it does not mean that IBMers should just keep quiet and play d-mb when the company lays off 8000+ people in a year, transfers their jobs to the CEO's birth country because it is considered "low cost" while at the same time giving the said CEO a bigger multi-million dollar bonus (every year) as a reward for his questionable achievements. The HR layoff policy is unfair to say the least - why not pick up the senior executives who make the most money and do the least amount of work rather select the folks at the lowest end of the corporate ladder for layoffs first ? Life is unfair but maybe implementing good AI rather than the CR*P HR policies developed and implemented inside IBM may be a start to building a better HR system and culture than the garbage that now exists at IBM. If IBM was a pillar of the tech industry, it would be well regarded in the world. It isn't and things are not improving. Clients are not stupid and they know a problem company when they meet it's leaders. If things inside IBM were running well, this Layoff site would not exist and no one would be writing about Alvind, Krapanaugh or Rob the Slob. IBM leaders are fake, just looking to fill their pockets with as many shares of the stock and as much cash as they can carry out. They do this by destroying the lives of employees working for the company.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @bb+1k2w5fhcn

I never complain In person only anonymous online

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @ay+1k2w5fhcn

@OP

That would be fine if regular corporate profitability meant regular steady employment for productive workers.

But nope. We are in a world where shareholder value must always increase. Over a long-enough timeline, worker benefits have to be minimized, in a race to the bottom, as soon as the first "industry leader" provides cover.

So we are now in a complete oppositional relationship with our senior leaders.

As far as I can tell, the best response is to slow-walk as much as reasonable, to propagate any confusion or omitted aspects put forth in group settings, to introduce subtle and hard-to-detect flaws in output (100% NOT APPLICABLE to safety-related roles) where applicable.

Anyone interested in ways to introduce this to your daily duties - simply trust your government 😆

https://www.cia.gov/static/5c875f3ec660e092cf893f60b4a288df/SimpleSabotage.pdf

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @ap+1k2w5fhcn

Agreed . However it does not mean we can’t call out incompetent greedy leadership.

This current gaggle of Alvind and PipChumps should be given gold medals for their pathetic management , their bloated perk packages and the arrogance

Especially Alvind and Krabanaugh

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @a5+1k2w5fhcn

Post a reply

: