[lmg643]

I wonder if IBM would change their plan based on this leaking. If he really had this totally and completely wrong, then of course that is very irresponsible of him to say.

I don't see how you can stop listening to Cringely altogether though. They did abandon their $20/share EPS plan, which was a pretty epic change. The claims about global services having <50% college grads servicing IBM clients from india is also pretty damning for the company.

I would like to see IBM do well, it makes me angry to see big companies squander their history and abuse their people.

[krschultz]

Something like laying off 25% of the company is as drastic a measure as you can ever take other than closing up shop. If they were thinking about it, they were not thinking about it lightly. They certainly wouldn't change their mind just because the news leaked.

[DannyBee]

???? IBM is highly likely to have to lay off that many given the dryup of various markets.

When HP splits, it's likely they'll do the same.

This is just the way the services market is going.

As for whether they'd change, uh, people like their current CEO definitely change their mind based on the way the wind is blowing, and how much crap will hit the fan.

[krschultz]

Have you ever thought about the logistics that go into planning a layoff of 25% of the workforce? In order to get the list of who stays and who goes there is a lot of work involved. Many of the people involved in that work end up on the list to get laid off. It's terrible for morale. Once you've gone down that road, you aren't turning back just because someone found out 2 weeks ahead of time.