IBM shifts 5,000 US jobs overseas today [Updated]

This is reported in several places, but I’ll link you to John Oates at The Register. According to the story

IBM logoIBM is cutting 5,000 jobs today, mostly in the US and mostly from its services division. Big Blue’s services division has been a steady source of profits for the firm. It seems that IBM will not be reducing capacity in its services business, but will shift the work to lower cost countries like India instead.

In context, IBM employs about 390,000 folks, 115,000 of whom are in the US. IBM’s official policy is to not dish on where or how many…

On March 26, we notified some employees to inform them that some jobs were being eliminated. This is a North American action. We are not communicating locations or the number of jobs as a result of this action. IBM continuously evaluates its mix of skills and resources throughout the year, and makes changes as needed. Managing resources in this way keeps us competitive, while adapting to the evolving needs of our clients. We anticipate that some employees will find other positions within IBM, and we’re helping them in that effort. Those employees who leave IBM will receive separation benefits.

…but I did send a note to the company asking whether there would be any impact to the HPC business. I’ll let you know if I hear back.

[Update: It appears that no impact is expected in IBM’s HPC business.]