Sucking Up to Fascists (Like IBM's Watson Sucked Up to Adolf Hitler in the 1930s) Did Not Help IBM
Here we go again:
IBM's CEO "doing a Watson" in Microsoft's LinkedIn: "Congratulations to President-elect Trump. IBM looks forward to working with his administration..."
Did IBM profit from Nazi Germany? Yes, it sold a lot to both sides in the war. It helped grow IBM. Many years have passed since then, IBM's CEO keeps sucking up to Donald Putin [1, 2], and now it seems like Putin's lapdog, DOGE, will terminate some of the most lucrative IBM contracts (this will cause more layoffs). IBM is mentioned in [1, 2]:
That's new and it says they'll need "justify consulting contracts from 10 companies - including Booz Allen (NYSE:BAH), Accenture (ACN), IBM (IBM) and Deloitte..."
This one alone can cost IBM a billion dollars:
That was under Biden.
Trouble ahead for IBM? Not enough bribes like GAFAM?
What will be left of IBM and Red Hat?
Two new "testimonials" of how IBM treats long-time and devoted, loyal workers were posted earlier today. The first one said: "I was let go in 2015. I was 55. A male peer who was suspected of being drunk while working was spared. He used to talk sports with the boss and I wasn’t into sports and of course I am a female and some people at IBM still disrespect females. Whatever! I had enough years to “retire” and I got my 6 months severance."
Hours later another person said: "40+ years working directly with IBM clients, with a clean yearly appraisal. Turned 65, and within a month was put in a PIP and given 60 days to "improve". Met all the requirements within the 60 day period, but at the final PIP review, I was told I failed the PIP. The reason given was total BS, and I was pushed out immediately and forced to sign a separation agreement giving me a pathetic 1 month salary. Wow, it doesn't pay to be a loyal dedicated employee anymore."
IBM could stick to better principles, but instead it treats the Free software community and even its own staff like trash. Daniel Pocock, who was a core person in Fedora, often compares the antics of IBM/Red Hat to those of a concentration camp. Remember that IBM's CEO came from a military family (both sides). █