IBM's Alderon as "Silent Layoffs", Not Just Bailout From Taxpayers

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Jun 29, 2026,
updated Jun 29, 2026

Last month: The "Next Big" Bonus for IBM's CEO Apparently Comes From American Taxpayers While Veteran IBMers Are PIP'd and RA'd (Laid Off)

Seeing through the noise (rage-baiting troll) in thelayoff.com is feasible provided one has patience and can keep a third eye on red/green markers. One thing that could easily slip through the cracks is this comment about Alderon and Albany at IBM [1, 2, 3]. It's the "quantum" delusion and where IBM's CEO has pulled some "hat tricks" for vapourware. To quote: "I actually think this is for saving his job. The Alderon split is basically a layoff to take headcount off IBM books after over-hiring for Rapidus. Most of if not all other business deals also never happened. Even the Rapidus partnership does not look like it is going very well, and it seems they want out. Albany is in very bad shape. But if you can keep making good headlines, maybe you can buy some more time. Classic management jugaad."

There is a newer and dedicated thread about this, which says:

ALBANY TOWN HALL - Friday 7/26

Long-time reader, first-time posting. I was planning to post yesterday only, but I just came back from travel.

After yesterday’s town hall, I am still having many questions. It answered many things, but not the questions most people were actually asking. There were plenty of buzzwords and positive statements, but not much real clarity.

I am still not understanding the Alderon split properly. What will remain with IBM? What will move to Alderon? On what basis these decisions are being taken? Even after the town hall, I don’t have a better understanding.

Also, it looked like the usual favorites are getting special treatment. From what I could understand, many of those people will remain with IBM, while everyone else is still not knowing what will happen with their future. Maybe there are valid reasons behind these decisions, but they were not explained clearly.

Just wanted to know what others are thinking. Did this town hall give you more confidence, or did it leave you with even more questions? Are you feeling more secure about your job after listening to it? Interested to hear everyone’s thoughts and opinions

Unlike Kyndryl, Alderon would deal with no deliverable products, either new or old.

Alderon is like that Foxconn/Trump con (scam) from a decade ago.

"I have been through 5 or 6 reorgs in the past 3 to 4 years," someone commented. "The same leaders shuffled around and reshuffled around. It is not a stable environment. I suspect more churn is the foreseeable future. At this point, the best move is to have an exit plan in your back pocket, buckle up, and just go for the ride as long as you can. There’s not much else we can do."

Alderon lets IBM hide a failure. It'll be spun as IBM championing a spin-off (like Lexmark).

Speaking of failures, someone has asked: "What is the most useless product from IBM that you had to deal with? IBM is well know for creating things that don't work but look very good in the power point slides so let's build an inventory of such offerings here."

The first answer given: "Red Hat LINUX - it is overrated and customers are overcharged for a mediocre product."

If people want GNU/Linux, then they have plenty of options other than proprietary RHEL. So far this year Red Hat has had PIPs, mass layoffs, and more. █