[scholia]

IBM is just getting rid of Americans with high salaries, health insurance and pensions and replacing them with much cheaper workers in India. It now has far more workers in India than it does in the USA.

Of course, IBM is also destroying the skills and experience that customers are paying them to provide, but it's happy to get a short-term gain and ignore the long-term pain. The people in charge will have stashed away their millions and left before most of the ordure hits the rotating device.

Bear in mind that IBM's turnover today is less than it was in 2000, and it's had five or six years of annual decline. As a company, it's failing badly, so perhaps it's unrealistic for it plan for a future that might not happen.

[chid]

I'd argue in IBM's eyes it's short-term pain (increased training costs/doubling up on resources/lawsuits, communication/teething issues) with the view for long term gain (lower long term costs / liabilities). That's not to say I agree or disagree with the approach but it's definitely not an easy decision to make.