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https://www.wsj.com/business/ibm-to-lay-off-thousands-of-employees-before-end-of-year-3b293c50
Tech company said cuts, scheduled for the current quarter, will affect a small percentage of its workforce
By: Sebastian Herrera |
Updated Nov. 4, 2025 5:18 pm ET
International Business Machines is cutting thousands of jobs this quarter, the latest company to shed workers as it seeks to reposition its business in the age of artificial intelligence.
The tech company said the layoffs will affect a low single-digit percentage of its total workforce. IBM employed about 270,000 globally as of the end of 2024. The company didn’t further clarify how many people it would cut.
“IBM’s workforce strategy is driven by having the right people with the right skills to do the work our clients need,” a spokesman said. “We routinely review our workforce through this lens and at times rebalance accordingly.”
IBM joins a growing list of companies shedding workers, propelled by a shift in C-suite offices toward using AI tools and pushing for efficiency among rank-and-file employees.
Amazon.com announced layoffs last week that affected roughly 14,000 roles. United Parcel Service recently said it had reduced its management workforce by about 14,000 positions over the past 22 months, and Target recently shed 1,800 corporate roles.
Large employers have been making deep cuts to white-collar jobs, with many executives preaching a leaner approach to their businesses.
At Big Tech companies like Amazon and Microsoft, cuts have come at the same time the companies have poured billions into building out data centers and other AI infrastructure. Many companies are embracing AI, hoping that it can handle more of the work that some well-compensated white-collar workers have been doing while making others more productive.
Investors have also pushed chief executives to operate more efficiently with fewer employees.
Based in Armonk, N.Y., IBM is trying to position itself as a leader in building the world’s first viable quantum computer. It is competing with Google, Microsoft and a number of startups to build computers that exceed the abilities of the best conventional ones. It is working on larger clusters of quantum chips that it expects will enable large-scale computing in the next five years.
Chief Executive Arvind Krishna recently said IBM has used AI, specifically AI agents, to replace the work of a couple of hundred human-resources workers. That has enabled it to hire more programmers and salespeople, he added.
In October, IBM posted higher revenue in the third quarter, boosted by higher-than-expected growth in its consulting business. IBM has had other cuts since 2024 that affected marketing, communications and other teams.