(New York) The computer group IBM will cut some 3,900 jobs, or just over 1% of its workforce, as part of a layoff plan linked to its strategic reorientation, a source close to AFP told AFP on Wednesday. folder.
The Armonk (New York State) company did not expressly mention these job cuts either in its results press release, published on Wednesday, or during the conference call presenting its quarterly accounts.
The leaders only mentioned an exceptional charge of 300 million dollars, which corresponds, according to the source, to the cost of the social plan.
This cost “is entirely related to the split of Kyndryl and the sale of the health business,” a spokesperson told AFP. “These measures were not taken based on 2022 performance or projections for 2023,” he said.
In 2021, IBM separated from the rest of the group its information systems consulting and maintenance activities, one of the company’s historical branches, but less buoyant than remote computing (cloud), in which it has invested heavily.
The new entity resulting from this split was named Kyndryl and went public in November 2021.
As for the activity relating to the collection and analysis of data in the medical field, which was part of the Watson Health division, it was sold, in early 2022, to the investment company Francisco Partners.
If the positions concerned by the social plan had remained in the bosom of IBM after these two separations, these are functions related to these two activities, according to the source.
IBM on Wednesday released fourth-quarter revenue slightly above expectations and net profit in line with analysts’ forecasts.
During the conference call to present the results, the chief financial officer, James Kavanaugh, indicated that it was “cautious” to anticipate growth at the bottom of the group’s usual range.
In electronic trading after the close of Wall Street, IBM shares lost just under 2%.
Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Alphabet (Google) have all recently launched sweeping redundancy plans, after ramping up hiring during the pandemic to meet increased demand for digital services.