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Reports Coming in of Big IBM Layoffs Underway in the U.S.

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Re: Reports Coming in of Big IBM Layoffs Underway in the U.S.

#101

Post by negrit »

daodedickinson wrote: post #71
belltaco wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is actually no grace period. They can be legally picked up and put in deportation proceeding the minute they're fired and they start accruing illegal presence immediately.

What percentage of people that can be legally picked up get picked up?

They don't pick you up. You have to leave. However the company has to pay for your expenses.

But the USCIS generally approves petitions to change from one employer to the next if the gap between jobs is short. 30 days is acceptable

Re: Reports Coming in of Big IBM Layoffs Underway in the U.S.

#102

Post by whybroke »

rdtsc wrote: post #31
mattzito wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

See, these types of comments are (again) why people have negative opinions towards silicon valley types. You may be right, but a good sign for whom, exactly? For the people who lost their jobs? For shareholders? For fans of IBM the company? Sure, yes, I agree that IBM probably has to shed people in order to stay competitive. However, it's not the fault of the people who are being affected by this, as by and large the…

> You may be right, but a good sign for whom, exactly? For the people who lost their jobs? For shareholders? For fans of IBM the company? For IBM. For shareholders. For people who are not laid off and still work there. > it's not the fault of the people who are being affected by this, as by and large they were not responsible for IBM's decision to get more and more into support and services. Is it surprising that IBM…

>How about this, what would you do if you ran IBM and you ended up with 50000 employees trained to do something that just doesn't bring profit anymore?

Apparently, if you are IBM, you fire them and hire H1Bs

http://data.jobsintech.io/companies/ibm-corporation

Re: Reports Coming in of Big IBM Layoffs Underway in the U.S.

#103

Post by eru »

nickff wrote: post #81
ryandrake wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$6.2M sounds like a lot for any single human being.

$6.2M is not a lot for a big company if the leader can increase sales or profits by even a few percent... which does not appear to be the case here.

Perhaps he kept them from shrinking faster?

Re: Reports Coming in of Big IBM Layoffs Underway in the U.S.

#104

Post by [deleted] »

daodedickinson wrote: post #71
belltaco wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is actually no grace period. They can be legally picked up and put in deportation proceeding the minute they're fired and they start accruing illegal presence immediately.

What percentage of people that can be legally picked up get picked up?

[deleted]

Re: Reports Coming in of Big IBM Layoffs Underway in the U.S.

#106

Post by eru »

negrit wrote: post #101
daodedickinson wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What percentage of people that can be legally picked up get picked up?

They don't pick you up. You have to leave. However the company has to pay for your expenses. But the USCIS generally approves petitions to change from one employer to the next if the gap between jobs is short. 30 days is acceptable

Does the new employer have to get a new H1-B from the lottery?

Re: Reports Coming in of Big IBM Layoffs Underway in the U.S.

#107

Post by tomlongson »

mwnz wrote: post #41
mikeyouse wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Much lower salaries with no long-term liabilities?

Why do you think H1B employees are paid lower salaries? And what long-term liabilities are you referring to?

In my experience H1B employees are paid less because those in hiring positions know they can offer less.

Re: Reports Coming in of Big IBM Layoffs Underway in the U.S.

#108

Post by mattgrice »

mathattack wrote: post #40

Here's what I don't get... If you have any options at all, why stay at a company with sub-par technology that abuses their workers? They've been stuck in low 3 Glassdoor [0] range for a while. It's layoff after layoff as they slowly dismantle the company. Why stay? Geographic limitations? Narrow skillsets? [0] https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/IBM-Reviews-E354.htm#trend...

Say you're a support person working at IBM in Dubuque, Iowa, where local and state taxpayers spent $50M to lure IBM in a delusion of becoming a tech hub. [1] You specialize in Lotus Notes support for local businesses like Hormel. Last year, IBM laid off 2/3 of their Dubuque workforce, 700 people, in a city of 60,000. More than 1% of the population. Your only skill is Notes, same as dozens of other people that were laid off. The nearest cities of any note are Cedar Rapids and Madison, both more than an hour away. You know you need to get out, but where and how?

[1] http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-19/iowa-spent...

Re: Reports Coming in of Big IBM Layoffs Underway in the U.S.

#109

Post by PhantomGremlin »

mathattack wrote: post #40

Here's what I don't get... If you have any options at all, why stay at a company with sub-par technology that abuses their workers? They've been stuck in low 3 Glassdoor [0] range for a while. It's layoff after layoff as they slowly dismantle the company. Why stay? Geographic limitations? Narrow skillsets? [0] https://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/IBM-Reviews-E354.htm#trend...

Narrow skillsets?

Purely anecdotal, but what I've heard is that chip jobs at IBM (and at Intel FWIW) are very narrow and silo-ed.

Good for the company in two ways:

1) employee gets really good at that particular job

2) IBM internal tools and procedures are different than general practice. Other companies that are looking for X don't want to hire an employee who has only done Y, even though X and Y aren't too different, and even though any smart person can quickly pick up X. Consequently, employee can't easily go elsewhere.

Re: Reports Coming in of Big IBM Layoffs Underway in the U.S.

#110

Post by toyg »

eggy wrote: post #87
redblacktree wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fear of the unknown? Atrophy of key interviewing skills? Comfort with their position? There are a lot of reasons that people stay, even when a position or company is not optimal.

Fear guides all of us in some way, and striving to live means taking chances. The myth of the 'stable big company' that you can work at, and get your kid a job at after college, is past history. The U.S. changed directions when they closed a lot of the vocational schools, and the luxury afforded by being the first world economy, drove low to mid-level wages up. Dinosaurs like IBM cannot feed the machine. Manufacturin…

Sure, sure, but mortgages and kids' needs tend to get in the way of philosophical and strategic thinking.
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