IBM lay-offs at China R&D teams send shock waves across local tech community
- Some employees were disappointed at the brevity of a conference call with US-based executives
Chinese employees at US computing giant IBM, once considered a cradle of mainland engineers, have expressed dismay over a terse conference call with the company’s American executives on Monday, as the firm known by the nickname Big Blue cuts hundreds of jobs at two local research labs.
The morning town hall, organised for affected workers, had been scheduled to go for half an hour. It ended up lasting only three minutes, according to an internal meeting transcript seen by the South China Morning Post and confirmed by an employee.
During the meeting, US-based executives told staff that IBM had decided to shift some Chinese operations overseas, citing market dynamics and fierce competition in the infrastructure business on the mainland. They did not take any questions.
IBM did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. A company representative said on Monday that the firm adapts its operations as needed to best serve its clients, adding that “these changes will not impact our ability to support clients across the Greater China region”.
One employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said many IBM staff in Beijing braved heavy rain to gather in the office for the meeting on Monday, only to be disappointed by how brief it was.