Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

spectrum.ieee.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

191–200 of 428 posts

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

#191

Post by bitmapbrother »

douche wrote: post #84
_delirium wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IBM's strategy for some years now can be more or less summarized as "offshoring". That's one reason the layoffs are only going a little at a time in waves, because you can't offshore the whole company in one fell swoop. Instead they're trying to do a ship-of-Theseus type thing where they piece-by-piece replace all the American staff with cheaper offshore staff, hoping they can pull it off while the ownership and busi…

They are putting themselves right into complete irrelevancy while they are at it. IBM sales and services is a scourge - never have I seen such incompetence on such a wide scale. If you are an independent software vendor who gets roped into part of an IBM deal, the first thing you should do is get them out of the loop and make contact with the real technical staff at the customer. Beats the hell out of playing telepho…

The same anecdotal story can be said for any services company. IBM, though, usually delivers above and beyond which is why they're the go to firm for services and are usually called in to mop up messes made by competitors.

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

#192

Post by epicureanideal »

latj wrote: post #175
SilasX wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And learn how to job search. There's surely a better job that guy could have found.

Maybe not. There is more age discrimination in software than in other areas. But around 2000, it was out of control. There were fewer jobs and everyone wanted to hire "the kids in the garage" type developers. If he was engineer-management he definitely wasnt needed because everyone was cutting down tech teams to a minimum. Many out-sourced their software jobs to India at this time. Some just got rid of those position…

This is a very strong argument for developing some sort of secondary income aside from your day job. Maybe it never becomes a replacement for your day job check, but if you lose that check, an extra $1000/mo could mean a lot...

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

#193

Post by godzillabrennus »

IndianAstronaut wrote: post #135
dredmorbius wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Among other factors mentioned: employer-specific skillsets. Technology jobs are very highly specialised. And I'm not just speaking of computer tech. I'm old enough to have seen several generations of obsoleted "gold tickets". Nuclear Engineering, future destroyed March 28, 1979. Freeway engineers, the freeway protests of the 1960s/1970s. Big Three auto manufacturers, dream destroyed with the first oil embargo, and su…

This is why I think learning new marketable skills should be everyone's hobby. Also, in our field or any professional field, you really should be very financially secure after 50 so that a job loss doesn't hurt you.

Except that the rate of change is picking up so the likelihood that the value of new skills is diminishing as quickly as you learn them. We need to refocus society on providing a minimal viable income.

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

#194

Post by beambot »

fdej wrote: post #95
nickff wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$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.

Well, there was some recently published research that claimed to find that most of the effect attributed to CEO performance actually can be explained by random fluctuations. Make of that what you will.

How do companies perform with no CEO?

Regardless of the firm's performance, it's a difficult role to fill -- especially for a large, multi national conglomerate.

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

#195

Post by qaq »

dredmorbius wrote: post #117
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...

Among other factors mentioned: employer-specific skillsets. Technology jobs are very highly specialised. And I'm not just speaking of computer tech. I'm old enough to have seen several generations of obsoleted "gold tickets". Nuclear Engineering, future destroyed March 28, 1979. Freeway engineers, the freeway protests of the 1960s/1970s. Big Three auto manufacturers, dream destroyed with the first oil embargo, and su…

Perl hackers? Booking.com will actually pay you to learn perl :)

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

#196

Post by [deleted] »

jjnoakes wrote: post #190
gozur88 wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is learning new skills is kind of a catch-22. After you've been doing something for a few years, assuming you're reasonably intelligent, you get to be an expert and command expert wages. Your employer is paying for an expert. He doesn't want to pay you expert wages to learn a a new, marketable skill. He can hire someone who already knows it. Or he can hire a new college grad for a fraction of what you mak…

So you take a pay cut and work your way back up. Maybe go from $120k+ to $70k. The sky is not falling...

[deleted]

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

#197

Post by dredmorbius »

hkmurakami wrote: post #125
dredmorbius wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Among other factors mentioned: employer-specific skillsets. Technology jobs are very highly specialised. And I'm not just speaking of computer tech. I'm old enough to have seen several generations of obsoleted "gold tickets". Nuclear Engineering, future destroyed March 28, 1979. Freeway engineers, the freeway protests of the 1960s/1970s. Big Three auto manufacturers, dream destroyed with the first oil embargo, and su…

I've been simultaneously waiting for and dreading the same future for rails engineers, since so many are under the belief that web development is the ticket...

Yeah, I've started seeing occasional queries on HN about what the Next Big Thing will be. Which raises another challenge: chasing the tech curve. It's one thing to have found the right tech, another to correctly anticipate the market's next move.

The worse when you realise everything that's up-and-coming is recapitulating all the mistakes you recognised from the last time.

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

#198

Post by reddytowns »

jldugger wrote: post #180
reddytowns wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Damn English and its lack of gender non-specific pronouns! Seriously, though... what is the implication that I am missing? What is the point of bringing up the CEO's pay? Should it be government mandated, is that what you all believe?

You haven't been following IBM then. 2010-2015 was "Roadmap 2015" during which the principal goal of the CEO was to bring earnings per share up to $20. It's 2016, and the EPS is still only $10. In the process, they've issued countless share buyback programs, fired anything that looked like it might be earning less than the average required, and sold the rest at firesale prices. For example, they paid GlobalFoundries…

I think the question should be whether a different executive team should be in place, and this should be asked by the shareholders.

Whether the CEO is paid $1.6 million, $100K, or $16 million, it doesn't really effect IBM's bottom line much.

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

#199

Post by gozur88 »

jjnoakes wrote: post #190
gozur88 wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is learning new skills is kind of a catch-22. After you've been doing something for a few years, assuming you're reasonably intelligent, you get to be an expert and command expert wages. Your employer is paying for an expert. He doesn't want to pay you expert wages to learn a a new, marketable skill. He can hire someone who already knows it. Or he can hire a new college grad for a fraction of what you mak…

So you take a pay cut and work your way back up. Maybe go from $120k+ to $70k. The sky is not falling...

You can, but only if someone's willing to hire you. Employers are leery of hiring you for substantially less money than you made in the last job. The fear is you're still looking, and a few months down the road (before you've really accomplished anything) you'll quit.

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

#200

Post by dredmorbius »

qaq wrote: post #195
dredmorbius wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Among other factors mentioned: employer-specific skillsets. Technology jobs are very highly specialised. And I'm not just speaking of computer tech. I'm old enough to have seen several generations of obsoleted "gold tickets". Nuclear Engineering, future destroyed March 28, 1979. Freeway engineers, the freeway protests of the 1960s/1970s. Big Three auto manufacturers, dream destroyed with the first oil embargo, and su…

Perl hackers? Booking.com will actually pay you to learn perl :)

Frequently a negative sign.

Up-and-coming tech frequently has a flood of talent. Dying: companies with vested systems (say, Cobol, or Solaris) are catching the tail-end of the curve. The truly good programmers have gotten out, or switched skills, or transferred to management.

Hopping on a sinking ship usually doesn't last long.

(Nothing against Perl. It's just a seriously fading language at this point.)

Post reply on HN