Report: IBM may 'redeploy' almost 11K US workers

Dive Brief:

Reports are circulating that about 30% of IBM's service delivery and technology workforce would be "productively redeployed," according to a report by The Register, which spoke to company insiders. The Register published an internal document attributed to IBM that identifies 30,900 workers who will be impacted, including 10,900 domestic workers.
The document outlining changes to the service delivery model identifies Bain & Company as the source for a graph outlining changes. About 9,300 positions were identified as redeployments to RFS, new business, cloud migration, pyramid roles and shoring roles. The graph also identified 10,100 positions for "attrition without backfill."
An IBM spokesperson declined to comment on the report. The company will announce its Q4 2017 earnings Jan. 18.

Dive Insight:

Barring any statements on the matter, IBM's earnings report will be greeted by much anticipation. After 22 successive quarters of decline, the company beat revenue expectations for the first time with its earnings report in October, reports CNBC.

The state of Q4 performance may offer a clear indicator on whether the company is hitting its stride in a turnaround and how its longterm strategy is changing.

The news comes amid a period of enterprise success for IBM. For the 25th consecutive year, the company maintained its No. 1 spot in patent leadership after receiving 9,043 patents in 2017 — a record that pushed it over the 100,000 patent mark, according to a company announcement.

IBM solidified its leadership in the industrial IoT and blockchain markets last year, and is maintaining a strong presence in the industrial cloud, mobile tech, cybersecurity and software environments.

In October, one-third of the company's workforce was based out of India. Following rounds of layoffs in 2016, CEO Ginni Rometty announced plans to hire about 25,000 more U.S. professionals over the course of four years.

IBM saw some workforce changes last year when it colocated marketing employees in March. Previously, these workers were allowed to work remotely, but the hire of a new chief marketing officer betting on more innovation from workers in the same vicinity prompted the change.