IBM has announced it is preparing to lay off between 2% and 3% of
its global workforce in a cost-cutting move after poor financial
results for the first quarter.
It is expected between 6,400 and 9,600 workers will lose their
jobs, according to sources.
No further details on the cuts or when they will begin were
available.
Last month, IBM announced its financial results for the first
quarter of 2002, reporting net income of $1.19bn (£0.81bn), a 32%
decrease from $1.75bn last year. IBM's first-quarter revenue
totalled $18.6bn (£12.7bn), a decrease of 12% compared with the
first quarter of 2001.
At the time, Samuel Palmisano, IBM's president and chief executive
officer, called the results "disappointing" but said they were
largely the result of the global business environment, which has
still not pulled out of its downturn.
Layoffs have been a continuing issue for companies across the IT
industry in recent months as they struggle to cut costs and stay
afloat until customers begin reinvesting in their IT
infrastructures.