Hardware crunch prompts IBM to furlough workers

Big Blue unveils latest cost-cutting measure in response to shrivelling hardware sales

The slowdown in the server market has prompted IBM to force most of its US hardware workers to take a week off on lower pay.

US workers will take a "furlough" week on one-third pay at the end of this month, Jay Cadmus, a representative for IBM's Systems and Technology Group (STG), confirmed on a call.

IBM's hardware sales have been struggling this year, sinking 17 per cent year on year in Q1 and 12 per cent in Q2. It recently revealed that a "large divestiture project" – thought to be its efforts to flog its System X business – probably will not close this year.

STG is also striving to cut costs by transferring the bulk of its enterprise customers from direct sales reps to channel partners. Sources say IBM is in the process of finalising how it allocates these leads to UK resellers.

The vendor has already laid off more than 3,000 employees this year in the US and Canada as part of a "workforce remix", according to employee group Alliance@IBM.

In a statement to CRN last month, Alliance@IBM national co-ordinator Lee Conrad described the mood within IBM as "terrible".

"They do not believe CEO [Ginni] Rometty is running the company well and they also believe she will fire more employees to save her own job and the goal of Roadmap 2015 and $20 earnings per share. It is all about the money. Not a good business model at all."

Cadmus said this month's furlough was the best approach in lieu of other options.