IBM – “TJ Watson would be appalled!.”

Pros

If you already have a job here, and have inertia, I suppose coasting along might be the best path for some. The ship is sinking, though, so you should really be looking around for your exit strategy. That is what upper management is doing.

Cons

IBM Management is secretive, but with the latest layoffs on 1/27/09 it is obvious what their overall plan for IBM is: In the US there will be VPs (Executives) and Sales people and a few service (installation) people. All software development will be done by IBM in India and China. US management is encouraging US employees who perform software development to move to IBM in Eastern Europe, Africa, or the United Arab Emirates. IBM India and IBM China will not hire US citizens unless they are of Indian or Chinese descent.

Advice to Senior Management

Please be open and honest. Rumors abound when you hunker down. TJ Watson, in the last Depression, decided that IBM would lead the other businesses out of the depression instead of retreating from the depression. Watson kept the IBM development and research going and continued development and production at IBM, even though times got very tough. It is obvious you are not following his example, you are down-sizing and trying to shrink your way to profitability. Rather than showing leadership you are trying to be the last rat off the sinking ship, climbing to the highest point while you sacrifice those underneath you. If you had even the tiniest bit of respect left for the individual, one of those quaint IBM principles long ago discarded, you would be open and honest instead of trying to hide what you are doing. This secrecy is shameful.