"Headcount" as Distraction From Mass Layoffs and Salary Reductions

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Mar 27, 2026

Yesterday: IBM is "Increasing Its Temporary and Part-time Headcount" While Net Headcount Falls (Despite Buying Many Companies and Their Workforce)

There's this discussion today about how many Americans IBM is laying off, with recent comments pointing out there are IBM layoffs in companies it buys, e.g. HashiCorp last month and Confluent this month.

It's actually closer to 50% because of acquisitions. IBM adds a lot of of new employees to its US books and then lays them off too. They usually get 3 to 5 years before that happens but it always happens.

This was a few hours ago (so-called 'AI' in New York):

Today is my last day at IBM

Suppose IBM has about 50,000 workers in the US and each year it buys about 5 American companies with a total of 5,000 workers, then culls (or 'PIPs') about half their staff within 5 years. That would be 12,500 culled workers in half a decade in only the companies acquired by IBM, not counting IBM itself. The "headcount" delusion gives a false sense of stability. Things aren't looking well when one considers revenue is acquired, not earned. The acquisitions are funded by debt. █

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