Bonum Certa Men Certa

Hypothesis That New McKinsey/Microsoft Executive Inside Red Hat Will Outsource Research and Development Operations to India (Like They Do in IBM)

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Sep 05, 2025

Only 4 weeks ago:

Getting to know Navtez Singh Bal, Vice President: Prior to joining Red Hat, Navtez held several leadership roles, including chief operating officer for India at Microsoft

IBM is floundering. Yes, just ask anyone you know inside IBM. He or she will tell you. It's hard to find anybody in IBM who predicts a bright future or some renaissance for IBM. The reasons for that are a long and complicated subject, but the short version is, IBM is way too reliant on "legacy" products and contracts associated with those products are slipping away. IBM must get something new or invent something new. But the brain drain and mass layoffs prevent or significantly reduce the prospects of that ever happening.

Right now there are layoffs there. We particularly like the comments in that page. They're acting like an emotional support network for colleagues who lost their job at IBM.

IBM's Red Hat is pretty much the same, with or without it being "blue".

"Expect an IBM spinoff of the small/medium customers set to a USA based PC/storage provider quite soon. NOTE all of this also aligns with the recent Redhat news. It’s all in on Enterprise and everything else goes," this thread noted yesterday.

Lately we (and others) noticed many people leaving Red Hat, including very high-profile Linux developers. Yesterday we mentioned Hans de Goede leaving and as noted a few minutes ago there's already LLM slop with slop images about it:

Slop or fake: Red Hat’s Hans de Goede Departs After 17 Years of Linux Hardware Innovations

That does not even look like him! That's what slopfarms do.

"He will be replaced by an Indian," somebody said about Hans de Goede leaving Red Hat, whereas Phoronix said good things about "Linux Hardware Enablement Leader Hans de Goede" and there are many thank-yous in the comments. I myself have tremendous respect for the work done by him. He never participated in anything bad inside Red Hat (like TPMs or DRM or whatever).

The following comment from several hours ago reckons many Red Hat jobs are moving east:

We are witnessing the dismantling of Red Hat in the US, what's left is going to India, where they hired a former McKinsey to manage it.

They claim that India is growing, but despite so called high growth rates, it's only $200 million and won't go much higher.

McKinsey was hited last year (March 2024 news(): "Red Hat tries on a McKinsey cap in quest to streamline techies' jobs"

https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/27/red_hat_hires_mckinsey/

https://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/1bql18o/red_hat_hires_mckinsey_to_streamline_techies_jobs/

Then, last month, this happens - a former McKinsey became regional manager in India:

https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/enterprise-services/red-hat-appoints-navtez-singh-bal-as-new-vp-gm-for-india-and-south-asia/123162309

Now Hans leaves, a.k.a. talent continues to jump boat.

Folks, that's the plan. AK was supposed to manage this $34 billion dollar acquisition for success. He didn't. But his plan to dismantle IBM and move what's left to his homeland is working "perfectly". Why "perfectly"? Because investors, shareholders, regulators, lawyers, etc are doing nothing.

Also see this:

McKinsey is behind many of the tech layoffs + moving things to then China, now India... "we were just following recommendations" corporations then say (CEOs, CFOs, etc).

If you work for McKinsey, you are not a nice person. Just saying...

We already mentioned this several times this week. The above focus on McKinsey overlooks the fact that he came to Red Hat directly from Microsoft. If he makes Red Hat weaker, Microsoft will benefit. █

Other Recent Techrights' Posts

Links 25/10/2026: TMZ Revisits Epstein's Connections to Bill Epsteingate, "Italy Hit by New Cost of Living Protests"
Links for the day
Intercontinental Brigading - Part XIV - Six Years of Learning Irish, But the Real Issue Was Microsoft-controlled 'Secure' (Restricted) Boot
Had I not opposed back doors in Linux, not of this would come about
Microsoft Sort of Tried to Sell XBox Piecewise (Offloading Microsoft)
XBox is in a morbid state
 
Linus Torvalds Defected to Enshittification
Linus Torvalds is betraying a generation of high(er) standards
Microsoft’s Spin About Mass Layoffs and Shutdowns: They "Never Should Have Existed"
Microsoft-sponsored spin
It's Slop
Maybe we'll exclude It's Slop from our curation. It's a Linux Foundation outpost of sorts, an apologist of sloppy code and plagiarism.
Gemini Links 25/10/2026: Moana (2026) and OpenBSD Updates
Links for the day
The Netherlands Fast to Adopt GNU/Linux, "Market Share" Rises to Two-Digit Value (on Desktops/Laptops)
It peaked at around 20% yesterday
DST Still Needs to Get Abolished
Get rid of DST, efficiency will improve and systems will become more reliable
PHP2Shell as Paid-for FUD Campaign (Intended to Help Sell Slop and Fake "Market Value" of Slop Pushers)
PHP2Shell considered overhyped [...] Remember all the paid-for hype regarding Mythos? What happened to all that?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, October 24, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, October 24, 2026
Gemini Links 24/10/2026: Arch Linux Journey and Amin Bandali's Priorities
Links for the day
Bluewashing as a Form of Silent Layoffs
IBM will continue to shed off loads of workers while its debt climbs
Turning 20 in 2 Weeks and Upcoming Network Maintenance
That ought not interrupt our anniversary
Microsoft Shutdowns Accelerating, More Shutdowns Revealed (Not Connected to Gaming)
Silent layoffs disguised as "voluntary" "exits"
Links 24/10/2026: Microsoft Blackmail and Lingering Unrest in France:
Links for the day
Gemini Links 24/10/2026: From Bendigo to Kerang, Enshittification of Radio and Music in the UK
Links for the day
Red Hat Sinks With the Blue (IBM) Ship
As IBM's debt continues to soar so do the silent layoffs
Linux is Not Controlled by Linus (Torvalds)
Torvalds has become "90% marketing hype"
The "No Pain No Gain" Expectations in Publishing
Sometimes truth hurts; but that does not mean it mustn't be told
Intercontinental Brigading - Part XIII - Censorship by All Means Available in a Continent So Far Away, as 'Secure' (Restricted, Restriction by Microsoft) Boot Has a Crisis of Legitimacy
it's about America controlling sites and computers everywhere
Links 24/10/2026: Oligarchs Already Buy US Elections, GAFAM Front Group "EFF" Speaks of "Vulnerability Apocalypse"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 24/10/2026: Automobile Differential Tire Movement, Samsung Washer Woe, and Slop Scraping
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, October 23, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, October 23, 2026
As Usual, Late on a Friday XBox (Microsoft) Releases Evidence of Its Demise
We covered several such Friday announcements earlier this year
Gemini Links 24/10/2026: Break/Fix and OpenStreetMap
Links for the day
Links 23/10/2026: Slop "is Scaling Transnational Repression" and Infringement and DMCA Suits Against Suno/Anthropic (Plagiarism Blenders)
Links for the day
More Shutdowns at Microsoft, Hundreds of Workers Impacted Shortly
It's not the entire wave, just part of it
The Register MS: About 60 Mentions of "AI" in One Day Are Paid-for Spam (Sponsored Hype, Composed by the Companies Covered)
The Register MS is a dying site
Links 22/10/2026: MElon (Elon Musk) Election Interference and Perl/Raku Foundation by the Numbers
Links for the day
Techrights Audience Grew as a Function of the Intensity of Attacks on Its Existence
We try to publish fewer stories but better (not necessarily long but at least important) stories
TechRepublic is Becoming a Slopfarm
It seems like TechRepublic became LLM slop (maybe all of it, maybe only some of it for now)
Techrights is Not About GNU/Linux, Tux Machines Is
When we say "GNU/Linux" we emphasise the GNU
The World Needs Activists With Social Skills and Perseverance
An everyday activist makes life better for everybody, everywhere (not for personal gain or even credit)
Intercontinental Brigading - Part XII - Lawfare to Cover Up Microsoft's Restricted Boot Calamity (Microsoft as Authority Over Linux), Garrett Wants to Talk About Penises Instead
When lawsuits become a political weapon
Without Microsoft's Monopoly (and Monopoly Rents) the Inevitable Microsoft Mass Layoffs Carry on Endlessly
Microsoft Windows is not retaining the dominance it once had
IBM's Debt Grew About $2 Billion in 3 Months
The silent layoffs still seem to impact Red Hat
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, October 22, 2026
IRC logs for Thursday, October 22, 2026