IBM Insiders Explain Why IBM is in Very Serious Trouble
One hour ago:
Don't just take it from us. Take it from anonymous insiders and former insiders. Unlike the above people, as they instead post anonymously, the NDAs aren't quite in effect (hard to enforce an NDA against someone whose identity is unknown). They're not obligated to say "nice things" (or nothing) about IBM.
Some hours ago somebody asked: "When would the PIP RAs be expected for? Will it be after 2H during the performance reviews?"
Notice the term "PIP RAs", which implies it's just mass layoffs ("RAs") in "PIP" clothing.
The following ongoing discussion includes a reminder that IBM's executive team is already failing to "cook the books", so PIPs will inevitably follow:
In more recent hours someone said that IBM is "desperately rolling out the "Next Step" program again to try and get rid of as many people as possible to leave by the end of 2026. Then you have the hapless CEO who always talked and bragged about the stock price being at $300 or higher, suddenly saying "stock price isn't everything"...the writing is all over the wall."
There are some insightful comments in there, set aside a few rude ones.
And regarding this "Next Step" program (which is mentioned above), people now discuss what this means in the US where health insurance is so infamously expensive:
As someone said yesterday, the IBM people rushing to the door if they can find employment elsewhere, outside IBM. To them, IBM is just some temporary springboard (to use a generous term) or antiquated station to park before moving on to the real destination:
Finally, someone has written a poem about the state of IBM, with "Madoff" in the poem's title:
Gerstner Palmisano Rometty Krishna Madoff
Four chiefs departed from the floor,
With heavy gold bags by the door.
They left the blue stock on the slope,
And took the cash, and ki-led the hope.Lou Gerstner set the grand design,
He took one hundred eighty-nine.
A million dollars stacked so high,
For saying his last brief goodbye.Sam Palmisano walked the line,
And took two hundred seventy-one.
A massive fortune in his hand,
As he walked off to golden land.Ginni Rometty claimed her share,
With twenty million waiting there.
The revenue was shrinking fast,
But her great payout chose to last.Arvind Krishna joined them there,
With thirty-eight to clear the air.
His package jumped by fifty-one,
While workers watched what he had done.Big payouts signed in leather chairs,
While workers cut off vital cares.
The stock may sink, the profits slide,
But severance grows both deep and wide.
Will IBM last long enough for any "quantum" deliverables to become a reality? No. █