IBM Germany cuts workforce
IBM Deutschland plans to cut several hundred jobs in a move to lower operating costs.
Most of the cuts will affect IBM Deutschland's hard-disk drive plant in Mainz, Germany, which employs around 2,000 people. The company, he said, will not renew contracts with 350 temporary workers and will eliminate another 500 part-time jobs for students.
In June IBM and Hitachi agreed to consolidate their hard-disk operations into a joint venture in which the US company owns 30% and the Japanese company 70%.
The Mainz unit, however, is not part of the joint venture, according to a spokesman. The unit, he said, will deliver hard-disk drives through 2003. "After that, we will have to see what this unit produces," he said.
IBM also plans to eliminate around 350 jobs at its Oberhausen-based service subsidiary, Datenverarbeitungs-Service Oberhausen (DVO).
In addition to the layoffs, IBM Deutschland has implemented a recruitment freeze and is hiring new staff "very selectively," the spokesman said.
At the end of 2001, IBM employed around 26,000 people worldwide.
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