IBM to lay-off 110,000 of its workforce

Thousands of jobs are at risk as technology giant IBM is reported to be preparing to cut a quarter of its workforce in the biggest corporate staff cull in history.

 

More than 110,000 jobs could disappear worldwide in a major restructuring at the once-dominant computing goliath – nicknamed ‘Big Blue’.

 

Some 20,000 are employed by the company in the UK across 24 offices, including sites in Portsmouth, London, Manchester and Edinburgh.

 

The jobs will be cut as IBM undergoes a massive restructuring in a ‘desperate’ attempt to revamp its business, according to a report on the US Forbes website.

 

But IBM poured cold water on the article, calling the reported scale of the job cuts ‘ridiculous’ and ‘baseless’.

 

The website said the company was preparing to merge its three main arms – hardware, software and support – into a single operating business. It will break down the ‘Chinese walls’ between the divisions and reorganise staff into teams based on their jobs, such as sales or research.

 

This is because of the growing demand from businesses to use companies such as IBM as a ‘one-stop shop’ for technology needs. It is expected to restructure its entire global workforce – some 430,000 people – under a programme known as Project Chrome.

 

IBM has struggled to shift from its traditional strength of making computers to offering IT services and information storage.