Looks Like IBM is About to Lay Off Thousands This Week, Workers' Access Reportedly Revoked Over the Weekend
A Web site I am not familiar with, trendforce.com, has a new report [1] (second from the top, so it's definitely recent, not re-dated) entitled "IBM China Revokes R&D Staff Access, Signaling Potential Personnel Changes". The site seems legitimate (not slop; one must be extra cautious these, especially days with unknown sites) and this is what it published today (Monday) or roughly one hour ago based on Google's timestamp:
IBM, following the closure of its China Research Laboratory earlier this year, is now facing fresh reports of layoffs in the region. According to Chinese media Jiemian News, over 1,000 employees across Beijing, Shanghai, Dalian, and other locations have recently had their access to IBM’s research and testing systems revoked. Affected staff have been notified to attend an online meeting on August 26.Jiemian News reported on the 24th that several IBM China employees confirmed the access revocations occurred the previous evening. A lab technician noted that there were no prior warnings, with employees continuing their regular work hours—even working overtime—until the sudden access shutdown. Those impacted have been removed from the company’s product group chats and are unable to access the internal network via VPN, although they still have email access.
The affected employees are primarily from IBMV, which is under the IBM China Development Center and IBM China Systems Center, focusing on research and testing. The revocations span multiple cities, involving over 1,000 staff.
Jiemian News reached out to IBM China for comment, but no response had been received at the time of publication.
There were also layoffs last week, but as usual Western media barely bothers to mention them because IBM does not issue an official statement or a press release (notice above, "no response had been received [from IBM] at the time of publication").
There is another report about this [2], "IBM Cuts Access for Thousands of R&D and Testing Employees in China Amidst Global Restructuring and Layoff.
To quote:
On the evening of August 24th, IBM took a significant step in China by removing access for all research and development (R&D) and software testing employees across several development centers. This decision affects employees from IBM's China Development Lab (CDL) and China Systems Lab (CSL), which are primarily responsible for R&D and testing functions. The impacted employees are located across multiple cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Dalian.IBM employees reported that there was no prior warning or indication of this move. Many employees were still at work when their access was suddenly revoked. The revocation includes VPN access to IBM's internal network and removal from key communication groups used for product discussions. Despite these actions, affected employees can still access their work email accounts. An employee's spouse noted the shock of the situation, expressing concern for their future in an already challenging job market.
This was published 2 days ago and serves to corroborate trendforce.com. So does the article [3] "IBM China shuts down intranet access for Chinese employees in R&D, testing positions: media reports" (citing Mandarin sources, including spouses and a jiemian.com report)
So get ready, layoffs are coming. There are some comments here under: "It appears IBM China is shrinking" (some comments may seem racist, but the underlying messages seem factual though).
Quoting one comment: "IBM has been shrinking its presence in China to favor more deployment in India. IBM US workforce is shrinking also, at the same time, it is expanding in India."
It would be easy to shout "racist", but these seem to be observable facts and internal material from IBM does suggest outsourcing or offshoring to cheaper workforce, notably in India. This is a race to the bottom. It has nothing to do with "hey hi" (AI) or even automation. It's about lowering salaries or number of salaries (e.g. overworking one's staff for the same pay as 40 hours per week). █
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[1] trendforce.com:
[2] ctol.digital: 
[3] thestandard.com.hk:
