Opções de estoque de empregados ibm 2011

Junte-se aos seus colegas de trabalho que estão lutando por seus benefícios - Junte-se aos aposentados da Aliança, Fornecedores, Contratados, Tempo e Empregados ativos são todos elegíveis para se tornarem membros da Aliança. Participe Depende de quão ativamente você deseja envolver, há várias coisas que você pode fazer: muitos de nós estamos convencidos de que um contrato de união é a única opção que irá proteger os funcionários da IBM de perder mais benefícios. Considere juntar-se ao grupo de aposentados do grupo AllianceIBM. Veja allianceibm. org. Siga o Grupo IBM Pension Yahoo. Além da participação ativa de funcionários, aposentados e ex-funcionários, é monitorada por vários repórteres nacionais. Nós descobrimos que há muito poder em números e problemas compartilhados. Se você achar muito difícil acompanhar o Pension Club, assine as atualizações semanais deste site. Que inclui links para postagens importantes no Pension Club. Procure os sites da Web listados abaixo a quotwelcomequot mensagem no topo desta página. Eles incluem: AllianceIBM Cashpensions Reino Unido IBM C-Planners Informe seus amigos, colegas e parceiros de negócios sobre este site, os sites da Web relacionados neste site e o AllianceIBM. O teste do nosso progresso não é se adicionamos mais à abundância daqueles que têm demais é se nós fornecemos o suficiente para aqueles que têm muito pouco. 8212 Franklin D. Roosevelt Este site foi concebido para permitir que a IBM Employees se comunique e compartilhe métodos de proteção de seus direitos através do estabelecimento de um Sindicato de Empregados da IBM. O Artigo 8 (a) (1) da Lei Nacional de Relações Laborais afirma que é uma violação para os Empregadores de espionagem de encontros sindicais ou pretendem espionar. Para efeitos da Lei Nacional de Relações Laborais, é dado aviso de que este site e todo o seu conteúdo, mensagens, comunicações ou outros conteúdos são considerados uma reunião sindical. Junte seus colegas de trabalho que estão lutando por seus benefícios - Junte-se ao Os aposentados da Aliança, Vendedores, Contratantes, Tempo e Empregados ativos são todos elegíveis para se tornarem membros da Aliança. Destaques para a semana que termina em 2 de agosto de 2003 New York Times: o juiz diz que I. B.M. Pension Shift ilegalmente prejudicou os trabalhadores mais antigos. Excertos: um tribunal federal julgou ontem que I. B.M. violou as leis de discriminação de idade na forma como mudou seu plano de pensão tradicional na década de 1990. A decisão poderia pôr em dúvida as mudanças semelhantes que centenas de empresas fizeram em planos que abrangem milhões de trabalhadores, e I. B.M. disse que seria de recurso. O juiz G. Patrick Murphy, do Tribunal Distrital Federal no Distrito Sul de Illinois, declarou que a IBM havia discriminado seus trabalhadores mais velhos de várias maneiras quando converteu seu plano de pensão porque as mudanças os deixariam com benefícios menores na aposentadoria do que os trabalhadores mais jovens teriam quando Eles finalmente se aposentaram. O processo foi certificado de ação coletiva, cobrindo cerca de 130 mil trabalhadores e aposentados nos Estados Unidos da América. Os documentos do tribunal mostram que o I. B.M. projetou que economizaria bilhões de dólares em custos de pensão ao longo dos anos após as mudanças terem vigência. Algum de que deveria ser usado para criar pensões para executivos. O juiz Murphy também apontou para a prática de I. B.M. 8212 encontradas em outras empresas, bem como 8212 de incluir ganhos do fundo de pensão em seus lucros corporativos. Esta prática é permitida nas regras contábeis existentes, mas tem cada vez mais problemas de analistas de valores mobiliários e outros, que dizem que as empresas podem aproveitar as regras contábeis de aposentadoria para que seu desempenho comercial seja melhor do que realmente é. Em sua decisão, o juiz Murphy observou que os ganhos de pensão de I. B.Ms representavam 7% do lucro da companhia em 1997 e 13% em 2001, depois que as conversões estavam em vigor e o plano era menos dispendioso. Janet Krueger, ex-programadora de I. B.M e líder de um grupo de funcionários que se juntou ao processo, disse que a decisão lhe dava um sentimento de exoneração. Ela lembrou em uma entrevista que, em uma reunião de acionistas da I. B.M., ela havia perguntado publicamente ao diretor executivo da empresa na época, Louis V. Gerstner Jr., porque o processo dos funcionários não foi mencionado no relatório anual. Ele disse: "Porque sentimos que esse processo não tem mérito", disse Krusger. De certa forma, eu me sinto exonerado porque eu tive tantas pessoas me dizendo que a IBM realmente não fazia nada errado, e você não deveria estar desperdiçando seu tempo. Se o link estiver quebrado, veja o Adobe Acrobat version PDF - 34 KB. Wall Street Journal : As modificações do plano de pensão da IBM são declaradas discriminatórias. Finding é visto como Boon para trabalhadores mais antigos em trechos dos EUA: os empregadores estavam conversando silenciosamente em planos de saldo de caixa desde a década de 1980. As conversões têm sido populares entre os empregadores, pois geralmente reduzem o passivo das empresas e reduzem o custo anual da pensão. Isso ocorre porque em vez de calcular uma pensão, multiplicando anos de serviço e salário médio final, a empresa fornece uma contribuição anual hipotética, digamos 5 de salário, como no caso da IBM, que cresce com interesse. Isso leva a um menor crescimento das pensões para os trabalhadores mais velhos, que não beneficiam mais de uma rápida acumulação do valor da pensão nos últimos anos. A conversão da IBM para um plano de saldo de caixa em 1999 levou a uma tempestade de protesto de funcionários de longa data, que estimava que suas pensões caíssem em 20 a 40 ou mais. Em resposta, a empresa cedeu e permitiu que as pessoas com mais de 40 anos com 10 anos de serviço permanecessem no plano prévio se desejassem. Os funcionários, no entanto, apresentaram processo em 1999, dizendo que as práticas de pensão da empresa discriminam os trabalhadores mais velhos. Se o link estiver quebrado, veja Adobe Acrobat version PDF - 38 KB. Pedido de Juízes na Caixa de Conversão do Plano de Equilíbrio de Caixa da IBM PDF - 847 KB 24 páginas. Entrou em 31 de julho de 2003. (Tribunal de Distrito dos Estados Unidos para o Distrito Sul de Illinois, cortesia do American Benefits Council).Associated Press, cortesia do San Jose Mercury-News: IBM perde o julgamento de pensão de perto. Excertos: é fantástico - eu sabia que tínhamos um caso, disse o principal responsável, Kathi Cooper, 53, de Bethalto, Illinois, um veterano de 24 anos da IBM que arquivou o caso em 1999. Quando a IBM se converteu em um plano de saldo de caixa, Doeu quase todos os funcionários com mais de 40 anos, 45, porque reduziu os nossos benefícios acumulados. A lei diz que você não pode reduzir os benefícios acumulados em função da idade. Essa fórmula foi parte da ganância da década de 1990 - é tudo sobre a ganância. O quotIBMs se tornou. A criança do cartaz para o abuso de saldo de caixa, disse Norman Stein, um especialista em pensões da Universidade do Alabama. Isso era o tipo de empregador que você não esperaria desse tipo de ação e acho que os funcionários consideraram isso literalmente como um ato de traição. "Stein disse que a regra da quinta-feira parece rejeitar argumentos que a IBM e inúmeras outras empresas fizeram na defesa de seu turno Para equilibrar os planos de saldo. Ao fazê-lo, poderia forçar os legisladores a enfrentar uma questão que até agora estavam relutantes em tocar, ele e outros disseram. O juiz, em inglês muito simples, diz que as leis dizem que esses planos de saldo de caixa. Discriminar os funcionários mais velhos e são ilegais. Seu raciocínio é tão claro, é tão consistente com a linguagem da lei que se aplicaria a toda conversão do saldo de caixa, disse Karen Ferguson, diretora do Pension Rights Center, um grupo de defesa dos trabalhadores com base em Washington, D. C. Cooper, que realiza revisões internas da divisão de Serviços Globais da IBM, reconheceu que trabalhar para a empresa sofreu tensão desde que ela processou, mas ela disse que estava feliz por ter enfrentado a luta. Eu amo essa empresa. É como ter um adolescente errante em drogas, e você fará qualquer coisa para corrigir isso, disse ela. Isso é um comportamento ruim. Deve ser interrompido. Por outro lado, postou o memorando enviado por Randy MacDonald. Vice-presidente sênior de recursos humanos, aos funcionários da IBM após o anúncio de que a IBM perdeu no processo Cooper contra IBM. Excerto completo: Prezado IBMer: no final de 1999, foi apresentado um processo que alegava que a IBM violava as leis de discriminação de idade quando alterou seu plano de pensão dos EUA em 1995 e 1999. A IBM tem defendido este processo para preservar nosso plano de pensão. Apesar dos nossos esforços, no início desta tarde, o Tribunal Distrital Federal dos EUA em Illinois decidiu que as fórmulas de previdência atuais da IBM violam as disposições de discriminação de idade da legislação federal sobre pensões. Estamos totalmente em desacordo com esta decisão. A IBM irá recorrer e acreditamos que prevaleceremos. Deixe-me tranqüilizar-lhe que o plano de pensão da IBM não discrimina com base na idade - ou qualquer outro fator. Na verdade, sugerir que nosso plano de pensão é discriminatório em idade é uma afronta para esta empresa e para todos os funcionários. A IBM tem um registro de longa data de fornecer benefícios líderes do setor para funcionários e continuou a fazê-lo diante de mudanças radicais nesta empresa, nesta indústria e neste país. Esta decisão ameaça não apenas o plano de pensão da IBM, mas também os planos de centenas de outras empresas que adotaram fórmulas similares. Na verdade, o raciocínio dos tribunais iria mais longe e invalidaria a pontuação de outros planos de pensão, alguns dos quais existem desde a década de 1930. A decisão também é contrária a outras decisões do tribunal distrital. Continuamos a analisar a decisão de compreender plenamente todas as suas ramificações. Peço sua paciência e compreensão enquanto trabalhamos com essas questões complexas e técnicas. Enquanto isso, forneceremos atualizações regulares no w3. Como muitos de vocês, espero uma conclusão bem-sucedida para este caso. Estamos confiantes de que o ilógico subjacente a esta decisão será reconhecido à medida que avançarmos no processo de recurso. Sinceramente, Randy MacDonald Vice-presidente sênior, Recursos Humanos Linda Guyer comenta a carta do Sr. MacDonalds. Excerto completo: a letra de MacDonalds mostra claramente que ele está com raiva. Ele foi empurrado duas vezes nas últimas duas semanas por ativistas de funcionários - primeiro com o artigo offshoring no NY Times, agora com essa decisão judicial. No entanto, no seu nível na IBM, acho que sua carta deveria ter sido mais profissional e menos ameaçadora. Sua arrogância mostra em sua declaração sobre como essa decisão ameaça todas as pensões. Houve uma citação recente pelo advogado dos demandantes de que toda conversão de pensão deve ser analisada separadamente, que este caso não se aplicaria necessariamente a outros. De alguma forma, eu acho que o advogado neste caso saberia melhor sua aplicabilidade para outros do que um profissional de RH . Mas ele está aplicando o medo oficial do spin-spreading da IBM que bem perde o que temos - com um tom muito irritado. Você quase pode inferir o seu pensamento - os executivos têm o poder e os imigrantes têm sorte de ter o que lhe damos. Se você continuar lutando contra nós, tire bem seu dinheiro. Ainda mais preocupante é o fato de que esta carta mostra como ele está desesperadamente fora de contato com os funcionários comuns (aka quot what planet are you fromquot). Ainda não conversei com um único funcionário que não se sentiu insultado por esta carta. Outro erro que eles fizeram foi ter o quotValues ​​Jamquot agendado ao mesmo tempo que quando a decisão judicial era esperada. Isso deu uma oportunidade única para os funcionários expressarem seu descontentamento com sua nota em um fórum para todos verem. Janet Krueger comenta esta declaração na carta do Sr. MacDonalds. Isso é uma situação em que alguns o estragaram para milhões de trabalhadores dos EUA. Extrém completo: Achei que o significado era óbvio. Alguns executivos gananciosos o estragaram por milhões de trabalhadores dos EUA. Afinal, antes que os executivos gananciosos intervieram, empresas como a IBM contribuíram com seus fundos de pensão todos os anos em nome de seus funcionários atuais e usaram o excesso de fundos de pensão para pagar as COLAs aos aposentados. Você não viu as mensagens de imprensa de doom e desastre cada vez que as empresas contribuíram para os fundos de pensão8212. Era normal, comportamento esperado. Mas uma vez que os executivos gananciosos intervieram, as COLAs terminaram, as contribuições terminaram e, para obter mais lucros virtuais para os resultados finais , As empresas tiveram que periodicamente reduzir as fórmulas de aposentadoria apenas para se manterem à frente. Então, quando as mudanças simples foram suficientes para gerar a quantidade desejada de lucro de vapor, eles tiveram que começar a reduzir os benefícios com esses novos planos híbridos, como planos de juros de pensão e saldo de caixa. Como alguém pode olhar para a seqüência de eventos e não entender que os executivos gananciosos estão em falta, eu me pergunto se a pessoa de comunicação que puxou o comunicado de imprensa em conjunto sabe ainda o quanto de uma obviedade que ela escreveu. Barre-Montpelier Times Argus (Vermont ): Os trabalhadores da IBM em Vermont recebem a decisão sobre o plano de pensão. Excertos: os trabalhadores da IBM e outros no Vermont estão recebendo uma decisão recente de um juiz federal em Illinois de que a IBM Corp. havia discriminado ilegalmente 140 mil funcionários mais velhos quando mudou seus planos de previdência em 1995 e 1999. 8220 Esta foi uma ótima vitória para os funcionários da IBM e Para milhões de funcionários em outras empresas que provavelmente vão pensar duas vezes antes de mudar para outros planos e roubar seus funcionários, 8221 James Leas disse na sexta-feira. Leas é um advogado em South Burlington e um ex-funcionário da IBM que ajudou a liderar a luta contra a mudança do plano de pensão, tanto em Vermont como a nível nacional. Sexta-feira, os executivos das plantas de Vermont distribuíram um memorando que criticou a decisão e prometeu lutar até o fim. 8220 A nota era quase uma bofetada no rosto. Parecia que deveria ter sido direcionado aos acionistas, 8221 disseram Paul Sala, que trabalha em serviços globais em Vermont. 8220Todos os corredores estão falando sobre o quão inadequado era.8221Janet Krueger comenta o que acontecerá depois da decisão do juiz Murphys. Excerto completo: na superfície, ele (a decisão) significa que os queixosos e a IBM se sentariam e negociariam um acordo justo em frente ao juiz, e haveria uma nova fórmula não discriminatória, com as pensões de Todos os que partiram desde 1995 foram recalculados, com juros adicionados nos pagamentos em atraso. Além disso, devido às acusações de discriminação de idade, o juiz teria a capacidade de adicionar danos às pensões recalculadas. No entanto, eu ficaria surpreso se houvesse discussões de acordo ativo antes do recurso ser apelado. Minha previsão é que a IBM também não aceita uma decisão do tribunal federal de recursos, e que haverá um apelo aos Supremes antes de termos terminado e vermos quaisquer sinais de uma solução. Isso deve fazer com que todos vocês se preocupem um pouco mais sobre se os novos juízes da Suprema Corte serem nomeados são favoráveis ​​aos trabalhadores, ou muito a favor do capitalismo e do livre comércio que apoiarão as grandes empresas como a IBM escolheram fazer o Wall Street Journal : Pension Rulings Roil Centenas de Negócios. As empresas buscam o papel dos EUA em planos de saldo em dinheiro. (Nota dos editores: Este é um artigo excelente. Ele fornece uma boa perspectiva histórica e explica as implicações da decisão Cooper v. IBM e explica por que corporações como a IBM adotaram planos de saldo de caixa.) Excertos: duas decisões judiciais importantes contra empresas que Procurou lucrar com a revisão dos planos de previdência dos trabalhadores que provocaram o encerramento de centenas de empresas que adotaram programas similares e provavelmente forçam o Congresso e o Departamento do Tesouro a decidir como regular os planos de pensão denominados planos de aposentadoria. As decisões separadas, contra a International Business Machines Corp. e a Xerox Corp., cortaram as arcanas das regras de pensão para concluir que os planos de saldo de caixa discriminam os trabalhadores mais velhos, reduzem os benefícios dos trabalhadores mais velhos e servem para reduzir os custos e reforçar os lucros dos empregadores que usa-os. Os juízes em ambos os casos das últimas semanas refutaram uma defesa chave dos empregadores, que os planos de saldo de caixa arent os planos de pensão que devem estar sujeitos aos regulamentos habituais de pensão porque são quothybridsquot que são modelados em 401 (k) planos controlados por funcionários. Sem dados, disse o juiz Richard Posner, um dos três membros do painel do Tribunal de Apelações do Sétimo Circuito que decidiu contra a Xerox: quotFor híbrido, ele escreveu, referiu ilegais. Quot. Ao longo da década de 1990, as empresas adotaram planos de saldo de caixa porque eram uma maneira valiosa de aumentar os ganhos. Com a ajuda de empresas de consultoria, os empregadores entenderam cada vez mais que as regras contábeis de pensão premiam as empresas que reduziram as pensões. Isso ocorre porque quando o retorno sobre os ativos de pensão é maior que o custo anual dos benefícios, o excesso é reportado como receita, quase como se fosse um lucro de bens e serviços. Assim, as empresas tiveram um incentivo para reduzir os benefícios de pensão, mesmo que seus planos de previdência fossem fortemente sobrecarregados. Embora qualquer tipo de redução de pensão possa atingir esse resultado, os planos de saldo de caixa foram uma das maneiras mais populares de reduzir as pensões, porque os benefícios e os custos poderiam ser reduzidos, além do custo simples de pagamentos futuros serem menores. Após uma conversão, por exemplo, os trabalhadores mais velhos geralmente param de criar benefícios por meses ou anos, um fenômeno chamado quotwearaway, porque os empregadores estabeleceram saldos de contas quotopening que eram de menor valor do que o que os funcionários haviam ganhado. Se a pensão de alguém fosse avaliada em 100.000 se tivesse sido convertida em pagamento imediato em dinheiro, por exemplo, uma empresa poderia estabelecer um saldo de abertura em 80.000. O funcionário então teria que esperar até que seus créditos de pagamento anuais e juros construídos até 100 mil até ele realmente começaram a construir um novo benefício. Em contraste, um trabalhador novo ou jovem começaria a construir um saldo imediatamente. Outra razão pela qual os empregadores gostava de planos de saldo de caixa era que os funcionários raramente diziam que suas pensões estavam sendo cortadas. Isso mudou em 1999, quando os funcionários da IBM perceberam e processaram. Se o link estiver quebrado, veja o Adobe Acrobat version PDF - 43 KB. Wall Street Journal: IBM Pension Ruling Provavelmente Fan Flames Of Debate. Trecho: a decisão do tribunal federal, que a IBM já disse que apelará, contradiz diretamente elementos-chave de uma proposta que o Tesouro dos EUA está preparando. A proposta do Tesouro aborda questões sobre se os planos de saldo de caixa são discriminatórios em idade. Alguns especialistas dizem que os argumentos sobre os planos de saldo de caixa eventualmente serão decididos fora do atual domínio do debate. É provável que a questão não seja resolvida pelos tribunais de apelação nem pelo poder executivo, mas pelo Congresso, disse J. Mark Iwry, um colega sênior da Brookings Institution e o antigo advogado fiscal de benefícios do Departamento do Tesouro. O Departamento do Tesouro disse que está estudando a decisão da IBM. Em geral, as pensões de saldo em caixa foram examinadas em parte por causa do caso da IBM, uma ação coletiva trazida em 1999 que representa cerca de 130 mil trabalhadores. QuotIBM foi o criador de cartazes para esta questão, foi o plano de saldo de caixa da IBM e a reação de sua força de trabalho que realmente primeiro desencadeou o debate público sobre esta questão, disse David Certner, diretor de assuntos federais da AARP. Se o link estiver quebrado, consulte o Adobe Acrobat version PDF - 32 KB. Poughkeepsie Journal: o juiz atinge as pensões da IBM. Plano chamado discriminatório. Excertos: a IBM, como muitos outros patrocinadores de planos corporativos, prosseguiu com os olhos abertos e estava totalmente informada sobre as conseqüências do litígio que certamente viria, ele escreveu. As leis federais de discriminação de idade cobrem todos os funcionários com idade igual ou superior a 40 anos. O juiz observou que as mudanças de pensão de 1995 foram bem sucedidas na redução do que foi um generoso benefício de aposentadoria antecipada e, no final de 1997, o fundo fiduciário de pensão teve um superávit de 8 bilhões. Mesmo assim, a IBM optou por reduzir ainda mais os benefícios de pensão em 1999 em uma poupança anual que chegaria a quase 500 milhões em 2009. As economias de pensão aumentaram os lucros da empresa e representaram 7% dos ganhos da empresa em 1997. Centro de direitos de imprensa Comunicado de imprensa: Pensão Centro de direitos autorais decisão da IBM como 8220Victório para empregados8221 PDF - 35 KB. Excerto: a IBM criou a controvérsia ao passar de um plano de pensão de benefício definido tradicional, que prometeu pensões com base em todos os empregados 8217 anos de trabalho e salário final, para arranjos em que contribuições e créditos de juros foram pagos a contas hipotéticas. Ao mudar para os novos planos inferiores, com diferentes regras e diferentes fórmulas de pagamento, a IBM cometeu os erros que o causaram em decorrência de disposições de leis de pensão que protegem os funcionários mais velhos. Jornal News (Westchester, Rockland e Putnam Counties, Nova York): A decisão de planos de pensão da IBM causa agitação. Excerto: o maior perigo para a IBM pode estar no tribunal da opinião pública, disse James E. Lukaszewski, presidente do The Lukaszewski Group Inc. da White Plains e especialista em gerenciamento de crises. Isso machucou muitas pessoas. Este é o país da IBM, disse Lukaszewski. A IBM emprega cerca de 9.000 pessoas no condado de Westchester, onde executivos da sede corporativa e cientistas de pesquisa trabalham. No condado de Dutchess, a IBM possui cerca de 11 mil funcionários que fabricam microchips e mainframes, entre outras tarefas. Amplamente criticando a decisão dos juízes não é a jogada mais inteligente para a IBM, disse Lukaszewski. Tenho a sensação de que vão diminuir a sua retórica à medida que se aproximam da data de recurso porque os juízes lêem o jornal, disse ele. Debate no tópico foi ativo ontem em fóruns de mensagens na Internet e na televisão. Foi quase o suficiente para reduzir o bom humor de Coopers enquanto observava a CNBC. Enquanto eles estão deitados, ela exclamou enquanto ouviu um analista advertir que a decisão poderia ameaçar as pensões em centenas de empresas. É uma ameaça falsa que eles estão esperando que as pessoas vão comprar. No que diz respeito às suas próprias esperanças, Cooper disse que quer a pensão prometida antes do primeiro conjunto de mudanças em 1995. Quero ser restaurado ao que a IBM me prometeu antes de todos os shenanigans Começou, disse ela. Cooper disse que ainda é leal à IBM 8212, embora ela não teve um aumento no salário desde que ela arquivou seu processo. Ela culpa as reduções de pensões em parte por uma cultura corporativa de ganância. Acho que nós tivemos um fracasso catastrófico do capitalismo na década de 1990.quotKathi Cooper, principal responsável no Cooper v. IBM, comenta os resultados do processo. Excerto completo: quero agradecer a todos que apoiaram este caso. Nunca foi meu caso. Foi sempre nosso caso. Trabalhamos muito. Por que somos pessoas especiais. A IBM apenas contrata o melhor, e o melhor de nós estava lá para ajudar a fazer o que era certo (e legal) para fazer. Agradeço a todos por suas chamadas e notas e pedimos que cada um, por sua vez, nos dê um abraço de grupo virtual. GANHAM FELICITAÇÕES (Nota dos redatores: Obrigado Kathi por sua coragem incrível e as longas horas que você passou para a causa. Você é um ato de classe).Janet Krueger comenta sobre quem é afetado pelo processo Cooper contra. IBM. Excerto: se você estivesse empregado na IBM, mas deixou ou se aposentou antes de 1995, então este processo não afetará você. A classe foi certificada para algo chamado quotInjunctive Reliefquot, o que significa que todas as pessoas que estavam empregadas na IBM a partir de 1995 são oficialmente parte da classe, não há opting out ou opting in. Uma vez que a IBM perde seu apelo, eles terão que consertar o plano Para CADA UM que obteve benefícios de pensão na IBM desde 1995. Isso inclui grupos de funcionários cujas pensões foram cobradas quando foram vendidas para empresas como ATampT, Celestica ou Hitachi. A liquidação da IBM incluiria um recálculo de seus montantes de caixa, com a diferença, acrescida de juros e, eventualmente, danos, pagos aos empregados impactados, de uma forma que possa ser transferida para suas contas do IRA. Representante Bernie Sanders (I - VT) Salva decisão do Tribunal Federal de que o Plano de saldo de caixa da IBM é discriminatório de idade. Excerto: Sanders disse que a decisão dos dias é uma vitória para os funcionários da IBM e nas centenas de outras empresas que se converteram em planos de saldo de caixa discriminatórios por idade. O tribunal reconheceu o que eu e outros tem dito desde a conversão da IBM, ou seja, que esses planos de saldo de caixa - que reduzem os benefícios de aposentadoria de trabalhadores mais velhos em até 50 - são ilegais. Minha esperança é agora que a IBM não irá arruinar isso no tribunal, mas em vez disso, dará aos seus empregados os benefícios de pensão que lhes foram prometidos. O vídeo de Evening News de CBS: IBM's Day In Court. Um juiz decidiu o Plano de Previdência do Saldo de Caixa da IBM discriminar os trabalhadores mais velhos que têm menos anos para criar valor do que os mais jovens. A IBM planeja recorrer, relatórios de Richard Schlesinger. (Nota dos editores: recomendamos que você tenha uma conexão de banda larga à Internet para assistir a este vídeo. Janet Krueger é destacada). Janet Krueger informa que recebeu um comentário interessante sobre o relatório da CBS de um funcionário no Capitol Hillquot. Excerto: quot Como é habitual, Janet, você decidiu Caminho para ir, eu não tenho que lhe dizer o que é uma luta em nossas mãos quando o Congresso voltar para a sessão em setembro. Procure por Portman-Cardin como o veículo que todos os CEOs da América estarão buscando para legalizar a discriminação de idade em planos de saldo de caixa. Eles podem ter que chamar a Polícia do Capitólio novamente. Tenha um ótimo fim de semana. A Sra. Krueger então adiciona quotSo, fique atento - bem, tenha alguns chamados críticos para a ação neste outono. Temos uma chance muito boa de ganhar o apelo, se as leis forem deixadas como estão. Mas se os executivos da IBM e seus colegas conseguem mudar retroativamente a definição legal de planos de benefício definido para incluir todos os híbridos discriminatórios de idade, todos nós perdemos. Se você tiver uma chance de conversar com seu representante e senadores neste verão, diga-lhes o quão importante é a proteção de pensão e deixe-os saber que não quer que se intrometem com nosso direito a um dia no tribunal. Quot Wall Street Journal: a Xerox pagará 300 milhões de pensões sobre o plano de pensão. Excerto: a Xerox Corp. perdeu seu caso no Tribunal de Apelações do 7º Circuito, onde esperava reverter os tribunais inferiores que declarassem que a empresa tinha empregados mal pagos em seu plano de pensão de saldo de caixa e terão de pagar 300 milhões de dólares em danos. A decisão ocorre um dia depois que um juiz federal concluiu que a International Business Machines Corp. discriminou os trabalhadores mais velhos quando mudou para um plano de saldo de caixa em 1999. Post de Washington: Plano de horas extras Desenha cartas irritadas. Trecho: as cartas e os e-mails dos enfermeiros e guardas da prisão, das mães que ficam em casa e dos executivos corporativos, enchem dezenas de pastas de plástico branco encadernadas em prateleiras em uma sala de leitura do Departamento de Trabalho, uma parte de mais de 80,000 comentários sobre Bush Esforço das administrações para alterar as regras que regem o pagamento pelo trabalho de horas extras. Cobertura sobre as questões de Visa e Outsourcing de H1-B e L1 Rede iSeries: os sindicatos são a resposta aos trabalhadores de TI8217 Excesso de preocupações de terceirização: Em março, Harry Newman e Tom Lynch, IBM8217s diretores extrovertidos e entrantes de relações com funcionários, respectivamente, realizaram uma transmissão ao vivo na Internet Com Big Blue8217s 2.000 gestores de recursos humanos em todo o mundo. Na época, eles provavelmente não previram que sua força-aérea eletrônica se tornaria assunto de uma história do New York Times em 22 de julho que se espalharia rapidamente pela empresa e imprensa e comunidade. Mas espalhou-o tem 8212 como incêndio. A discussão de uma hora foi gravada e armazenada em formato digital em um site interno da IBM. Um funcionário com acesso à gravação, que teria ficado chateado com o conteúdo da discussão, enviou uma cópia para a Washington Alliance of Technology Workers (WashTech). Que, por sua vez, passou uma cópia para o New York Times. A causa do furor é a intenção claramente definida da IBM8217 de mover milhares de empregos de colarinho branco dos EUA para outros países, principalmente, a Índia. WashTech cita Lynch dizendo durante a reunião, 8220We don8217t quer sentar e dizer 8216Don8217t fazê-lo.8217 porque it8217s vai ser um problema. Nossos concorrentes estão fazendo isso e devemos fazê-lo.8221 Se o link estiver quebrado, veja Adobe Acrobat version PDF - 31 KB. The Journal News (Westchester, Rockland e Putnam Counties, Nova York): o fluxo de postos de trabalho no exterior tem pedágio humano. Trecho: as duas primeiras vezes que a IBM Corp. pediu a Bonny Berger para treinar um trabalhador estrangeiro para assumir seu cargo, ela não se importou porque outra posição estava esperando. Eu não estava preocupado com meu trabalho, então para mim estava bem. Talvez houvesse pessoas que eram menos ingênuas do que eu era, disse Berger, uma esposa e mãe de East Brunswick, NJ Berger sentiu-se segura em grande parte por causa de seu histórico em ATampT, onde ela estava empregada como programadora por 21 anos antes da IBM ter levado Sobre as operações informáticas dos gigantes de telecomunicações em 1999. Berger disse que os colegas ficaram felizes em se juntar à IBM porque o Big Blue tinha uma reputação de contratação. Mais tarde descobrimos que eles estão contratando na Índia e outros países, disse ela. Em janeiro de 2002, Berger aprendeu pela terceira vez que seu trabalho estava sendo enviado a quotoffshore. quot. Desta vez, não havia outra posição em espera. Gartner: 1 em 10 Jobs tecnológicos podem se mover para o exterior. Excerto: Outsourcingquot offshore é o eufemismo que a indústria de computadores usa para descrever a transformação do desenvolvimento de software, serviços informáticos e trabalho de call center no cliente. Como uma desaceleração econômica global tem um pouco difícil nos últimos dois anos, as empresas norte-americanas abraçaram como nunca antes uma tendência de década de contratação de trabalhadores educados no exterior que podem ser empregados por um décimo do custo dos profissionais baseados nos EUA. ABC News: Exodus de colarinho branco. Empregos de alta remuneração estão se mudando para o exterior, trabalhadores dos EUA substituídos por estrangeiros. Trecho: Michael Emmons pensou que sabia como manter um emprego como programador de software. Você tem que continuar a manter-se a toda velocidade, disse ele. Quot Se você não, você será lavado. Até a velocidade ou não, Emmons acabou sendo quotwasho fora de qualquer maneira. No verão passado, mudou sua família da Califórnia para a Flórida para os fabricantes de eletrônicos e equipamentos da Siemens. Pouco depois, Emmons e outros 19 programadores foram substituídos por trabalhadores estrangeiros mais baratos. Adicionando insulto à lesão, Emmons e os outros tiveram de treinar suas substituições. Era a coisa mais desmoralizante que já estive, ele disse a ABCNEWS. Depois de passar todo este tempo nesta indústria e trabalhar para manter minhas habilidades atualizadas, eu tinha que agora ensinar aos trabalhadores estrangeiros como fazer meu trabalho para que pudessem me desistir. Notícias eletrônicas: Outsourcing offshore economiza dólares, mas o talento de custos Gartner adverte. Excerto: quot Para muitos CIOs e executivos de negócios, a decisão de terceirizar atividades offshore é fiscalmente sólida - as vantagens de custo, qualidade, valor e processo estão bem comprovadas, disse Diane Morello, VP e diretora de pesquisa da Gartner, em um comunicado. No momento em que as organizações da IS estão lutando com pouca credibilidade e a TI está sendo examinada, a terceirização offshore está se tornando uma ferramenta para melhorar a prestação de serviços e uma fonte de talentos altamente qualificados em maior número. No entanto, analistas da Gartner disseram que CIOs e outros executivos de negócios cant ignore the impact of offshore outsourcing on their business strategies, their organization or their employees. Three areas of concern that Gartner noted are loss of future talent, loss of intellectual assets and loss of organizational performance. Time Magazine: Where the Good Jobs Are Going. Forget sweatshops. U. S. companies are now shifting high-wage work overseas, especially to India. Excerpt: Little by little, Sab Maglione could feel his job slipping away. He worked for a large insurance firm in northern New Jersey, developing the software it uses to keep track of its agents. But in mid-2001, his employer introduced him to Tata Consultancy Services, Indias largest software company. About 120 Tata employees were brought in to help on a platform-conversion project. Maglione, 44, trained and managed a five-person Tata team. When one of them was named manager, he started to worry. By the end of last year, 70 of the project had been shifted to India and nearly all 20 U. S. workers, including Maglione, were laid off. Linda Guyer comments on IBMs outsourcing plans. Full excerpt: I can tell you what weve been told by a very good source. I cannot name the source nor prove it is true, so with that disclaimer: IGS plans to move 30,000 US jobs, or approx. 25 of its employees, overseas by end of 2004. The plan is to ultimately move EVERY job that supports an internal account. I also hear they are behind schedule at the moment. Daily Freeman (Kingston, NY): IBM outsourcing indicative of trend. Excerpt: quotIn the Northeast, its been something weve been experiencing for years. with the moving of manufacturing first to south then to South America and the Far East, quot said Chester Straub, president of Ulster County Development Corp. Straub also said advances in telecommunications and greater utilization of the Internet are making white-collar jobs more portable. quotIn the case of IBM, its part of their continuing effort to maximize profits while maintaining market position, quot he said. Union organizer Lee Conrad, with Endicott-based AllianceIBMCommunications Workers of America Local 1701, a union not recognized by IBM, put it more bluntly. quotI think it has more to do with greed, plan and simple, quot Conrad said. quotCompanies like IBM are going where the lowest costs and wages are. quotBoston Globe: Double standard on globalization. Excerpt: If you get into a conversation with a billing representative of your credit card provider or phone company, you may notice a faint Indian accent. Thats because the services industry is shifting more back room operations to India, where labor costs are a fraction of those in the United States. IBM, likewise, will soon move several thousand computer programming jobs to India, where programmers get far lower salaries. This decision has angered IBM employees and is contributing to a rare unionization drive at the high-tech giant, a company that once prided itself on never laying anyone off. In these cases, industry defends the moves as cost-effective and economically logical. If productive English-speaking workers in India can perform the jobs, why not move the work there and pass the savings along to shareholders and consumers Most economists, enthusiasts of free commerce, agree that these shifts help both India and the United States. But hold on a moment. India figures in another controversy. Indian pharmaceutical labs make prescription drugs at a fraction of the cost that American drug makers charge consumers. In this case, however, it is illegal for American consumers to benefit. The politically powerful pharmaceutical industry contends that imports of cheaper foreign drugs violate patent rights and safety regulations. The industry is also battling legislation that would allow consumers to import cheaper drugs from Canada, which legally manufactures or purchases the drugs under license from the US pharmaceutical companies and conforms to US safety standards or better. If you notice a double standard here, youre right. The White House: President Bush Discusses Top Priorities for the U. S. Press Conference of the President. including a question concerning overseas outsourcing. Excerpt: Question. Thank you, Mr. President. Staying with that theme, although there are some signs of improvement in the economy, there are sectors in the work force who feel like theyre being left behind. Theyre concerned about jobs going overseas, that technology is taking over jobs. And these people are finding difficulty finding work. And although youre recommitted yourself to your tax cut policy, do you have any ideas or any plans within the administration of what you might do for these people who feel like there are fundamental changes happening in the work force and in the economy THE PRESIDENT: Sure. Listen, I fully understand what youre saying. In other words, as technology races through the economy, a lot of times worker skills dont keep up with technological change. And thats a significant issue that weve got to address in the country. I think my idea of reemployment accounts makes a lot of sense. In essence, it says that you get 3,000 from the federal government to help you with training, day care, transportation, perhaps moving to another city. And if, within a period of time, youre able to find a job, you keep the balance as a reemployment bonus. I know the community colleges provide a very important role in worker training, worker retraining. I look forward to working with our community colleges through the Department of Education, coordinate closely with states, particularly in those states in which technology is changing the nature of the job force. Ive always found the community college -- and this is from my days as the governor of Texas -- found the community college to be a very appropriate place for job training programs because theyre more adaptable, their curriculums are easier to change, theyre accessible. Community colleges are all over the place. And -- but youre right. I mean, I think we need to make sure that people get the training necessary to keep up with the nature of the jobs, as jobs change. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE): President Blames Unemployment on Lack of Skills Engineers Must Correct this Mistake. Excerpt: It is essential that engineers tell the President that the unprecedented levels of unemployment in the high-tech sector are not the fault of American workers. But if we are to be heard, we need as many engineers as possible to e-mail the President and express their concern. These e-mails MUST be received in the next few days, no later than Friday, August 1st, to be effective. When you write the President, tell him that unemployment in the high-tech sector has very little to do with the competency of American workers, and a great deal to do with the low cost of using foreign workers. American electrical engineers are as good as their counterparts in other countries. But it is difficult to compete with engineers from Asia and Eastern Europe who are paid 20 to 50 less than the prevailing wage in the US. Attention Boulder area employees: A meeting with the subject quotOffshoring your Jobquot will be held Thursday, August 7, at 5:30 pm. at the Shepard on the Hill Church, 71st and Lookout Rd in Gun barrel (near the IBM Boulder location, east of King Soopers). We will be meeting in the fellowship hall. A new page with information about the Cooper vs. IBM lawsuit has been added. Content on this page includes: Summary of Judge Murphys ruling Full text of Judge Murphys ruling Who is included in the class action Excellent article in the NY Times IBMs Press Release in response to the ruling Letter from J. R. MacDonald, Sr. VP of Human Resources, to employees Consultant Watson Wyatt, not surprisingly, takes IBMs side. Offshore Lore - Myths and facts of white-collar out-sourcing. Welcome to IBM Employee News and Links HighlightsmdashApril 2, 2016 Berlinger Morgenpost: IBM will in Deutschland Hunderte Arbeitspltze streichen. Note: The following is a machine translation from German to English courtesy of Google Translate. IBM plans to cut hundreds of jobs in Germany . Excerpts: The IT group IBM apparently is planning massive job cuts in Germany. According to the trade union Verdi, the Group was informed on Wednesday about the planned reduction of nearly 1,000 jobs by March 2017. This was announced by Verdi in a newsletter. Primarily affects service segments. The group had invited the workers representatives to negotiations for a social plan and balance of interests. In Hannover, a region should be shut down with about 200 employees, said a Verdi representatives. The Hanover stay but generally preserved. Trade unionists feared already last year the job losses in the IT group in Germany. At that time there was talk of 2,500 jobs over the next two years. With the new announcement is not yet clear that it will not come to a further job cuts, said the Verdi representatives. Nationwide, the US group most recently employed about 16,500 employees. 2009 there were still 21,100 employees. Seeking Alpha: IBM Reportedly Plans More Layoffs As Its Cloud MampA Spree Continues. By Eric Jhonsa. Excerpts: Acquisitions continue like clockwork at IBM. And the same apparently holds for layoffs. Germanys Berlin Morning Post reports (citing local trade union Verdi) IBM plans to cut nearly 1,000 German jobs by March 2017 - the company currently has 16,500 employees in Germany, down from 21,100 in 2009. The job cuts are said to hit various services units. In addition, Facebook group Watching IBM reports 17 of Big Blues U. S. tech sales force will be laid off to make room for new quotOpen Source positions, quot and that it has heard 185 layoffs were announced for AustraliaNew Zealand three weeks ago. The group has also reported 225, 160, and 900 workers will respectively be laid off in Sweden, Denmark, and Germany - the last part appears to back up the Berlin Morning Posts report. Last November, WirtschaftsWoche reported IBM is thinking of cutting up to 3K German jobs over the next two years. In a sense, the layoff reports and todays announcement regarding the acquisition of cloud software consultingimplementation service provider Bluewolf (reportedly for over 200M) are linked, as each further one part of IBMs two-pronged strategy to offset secular declines for large portions of its on-premise enterprise hardware, software, and services ops. The first is to boost near-term EPS via job cuts, buybacks, and (with the help of financial engineering) lower tax rates. The second is to make a series of acquisition targeting high-growth tech segments (more often than not related to cloud services andor analytics). But for now, IBMs two-pronged approach isnt doing enough to keep sales and EPS growth positive: Revenue fell 9 YY in 2015 after adjusting for divestitures (it fell 1 if you also back out forex), and EPS from continuing ops dropped 10 to 14.92. More pain is expected in 2016, followed by some stabilization in 2017. The Register (United Kingdom): The Berlin Morning Post backs up Watching IBM, citing trade union Verdi as saying its been in negotiations with IBM over the layoffs, which would be the first forced redundancies IBMs made in that country. The redundancies will hit IBM Germanys Global Business Solutions, Management and Business Support, and Business and Technology Services. Watching IBM says the staff will be let go in a socially acceptable way within the next 12 months. Thats in a stark contrast to the home market, where staff have complained that severance has been slashed to a single month . IBM Germany ran with a now-familiar line, that it will continue hiring staff with key skills, something it told The Register in early March while discussing the pink slips its handing out in America. Selected reader comments follow: Project Solitaire: Ginni will be the only employee left. From what Ive seen of their partnership agreements it looks more like theyre sucking money out of the contract and passing it on to other divisions within IBM in a desperate attempt to make money and make the other divisions appear more successful than they really are. All very short term stuff and is likely to blow up in their faces after a couple more years. Thinking about IBM skills have you noticed that every time they get involved you end up with 99 of the people they send being those related to managementmethodology and 1 being technicalpeople who actually do something Of those 1, most are very inexperienced. IBM is using this to shed higher-paid (and older) workers. Win-win for the share price. Look at the financial statements year-on-year and compare of employees to expenditure on salaries. (Subtract C-level bodies and salaries, those never go down). Grads are the future For years the IBM UK has been sucking in graduates on their grad program. Theyre (IBM) pushing many legacy skilled people out of the door, whilst quotpulling in the futurequot. A great idea you would have thought - however many grads are there as a door opener to the IT industry, they no longer see IBM as a career, they see IBM as a stepping stone to their next position in Google, Amazon or similar. In a few years IBM will be Ginny, her loyal disciples, and passing through grads. Not a great model. Via an recently ex-IBM Perhaps a good time To make DominoNotes end of life Thats probably tax deductible as charity work, being as it would improve the lives of countless thousands of people. The Nerve: Big Blue-U: Did IBM Deserve a No-Bid, 70M Contract with USC Deal allows USC to finish Innovista project, outsource IT . By Ron Aiken. Excerpts: With a rubber-stamped vote from the board of trustees and an unprecedented exemption from the former Budget amp Control Board, the University of South Carolina in November 2014 bypassed state procurement law when it awarded a no-bid 70 million, 10-year contract with IBM. In return, the company agreed to take over key facets of the universitys IT operations, including the management of sensitive student personal and financial data, hire 70 USC employees from the university payroll, and take over a OneCarolina project already millions of dollars over budget and behind schedule. Now, two years later, many of the employees USC shipped to IBM are gone and replaced in large part by H-1B visa workers from India, and the OneCarolina project over which IBM was given oversight continues to suffer from the strain of implementing two competing software systems, thanks to a mid-project vendor switch that alienated on-site technical support, led to the firing of nearly 40 consultants and leadership positions and halted the HRpayroll programs in its tracks with no rollout date as yet on the calendar. A former Budget and Control Board employee with knowledge of the USC-IBM deal who asked to remain anonymous said he did not see enough benefits for the state to justify circumventing procurement law. With only fledgling experience managing complex academic partnerships and a roster of only two schools (Michigan State and LSU) prior to the USC deal, former UTS employee Whit Ashley, who was one of the employees transferred from USC to IBM, said its a sweetheart deal for Big Blue because it adds credibility IBM desperately seeks in a market its determined to enter. At the meeting where we were told we had two weeks to decide whether we wanted to go to work for IBM or find other employment, (USC CIO) Bill Hogue started out the session saying how one day last year (2013), Pastides came to his office and handed him some materials on IBM and said to Hogue, I think youre gonna like this. Hogue said to us, And so when the President of the University says youre gonna like something, you say Yes, sir and at this point, Hogue gestured a military salute and you go look into it. He basically indicated that you do what youre told and learn to like it. Im glad I got out when I did. I feel badly for those who couldnt. Theyre stuck working for IBM not by choice while trying to fix software issues with Oracle and working with temporary H-1B employees from India and consultants who rotate in and out from multiple vendors when it used to be all handled in-house by people who loved working for USC. Its a shame. Selected reader comments follow: Try asking the USC employees that moved over how well it is going. And the word is, IBM screwed up the bid for this thing and is doing two things. Trying to make it work on the backs of the USC employees and trying to scapegoat the USC employees for the attempted fraud of trying to over report actual hours worked on the contract. An educational institution, forever talking about STEM, when these geniuses should know that according to the U. S. Census, 75 of STEM college graduates do not end up finding work in their field of study, partly because of the abuse of the H1B visa system. Jobs at USC should go to their own graduates or other South Carolinians. They claim to educate students in Comp Sci and engineering, they take their tuition money and allow them to rack up student loan debts, and then hire foreign workers--Im wondering if they didnt force them to train their H1B replacements like they did at Disney. Parents and alumni should be outraged The legislature should step in and force them to hire their own graduates. This is a truly immoralamoral bunch of eduthugs running things, talking out of one side of their mouths about no limits and then refusing to look inward for workers. Or demanding college degrees for jobs that pay 26k a year. When the IBM announcement came out, it was stated as being a quotgreat opportunity for the University and its employeesquot, but those employees, several of whom had given 20 of the best years of their lives to the University, were instead informed with cold legality that their options were to retire (if eligible), take a 1 year quottime limited with possibility of hirequot position with IBM, or be terminated. Bill Hogue gave a choked-up speech, stating quotYou will always be part of the University familyquot, but a year later, of the original 59 that were given this quotgreat opportunityquot, over 80 are no longer employed with either the University or IBM. It feels more like the University took its quotfamilyquot and stuck them in a nursing home so it could write bad checks off of their social security. It is an absolute crime and an outrage. Selected comments from the Watching IBM Facebook page concerning this article follow: Not your fathers IBM. More like a Jiffy Lube franchise. Similar problems with State of Texas contract. At one time in the past, IBM management wanted me to work on troubled projects. No thank you. Call me not surprised at all. Seeing the way IBM completely blew state contracts around the country, promising much and delivering little, that fact that they shafted USC doesnt surprise me in the least. Why am I not surprised Zero liability and no one will get charged with theft. Amazing. But let me talk to a full time worker or dress the wrong way or talk the wrong way, I am lucky to even work again, ever. Japan Times: IBM Japan loses lawsuit over faulty dismissal. By Shusuke Murai. Excerpts: The Tokyo District Court on Monday nullified the firing of five employees by IBM Japan Ltd. and ordered the company to pay their lost salaries. The former employees said they were fired between July 2012 and June 2013 without adequate notice or proper reasons. In his ruling, presiding Judge Toru Yoshida said the company had no justifiable reasons, for firing the five plaintiffs and had committed an abuse of power. Although there were actually some signs of decline in their job performance, they werent strong enough to justify firing them because they were still competent enough to continue their work, the judge said. The plaintiffs claimed they were suddenly called in by their bosses and handed just one or two weeks termination notice due to poor performance.. Giving such short notice is rather common at foreign firms, but the Labor Standards Law states that employers must give at least 30 days notice before dismissal or pay the fired employee the equivalent of 30 days salary or greater. I believe the ruling this time was epoch-making as the court has put a brake on hasty U. S.-style layoff procedures, Yosuke Minaguchi, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said at a news conference after the ruling. The plaintiffs also claimed that IBM Japan targeted particular union members to undermine the unions power, but the court rejected this. IBM Japan said in a statement Monday it was extremely regrettable its claim was not recognized by the court, and said it will decide on the next course of action after carefully examining the ruling. Selected reader comments from the Watching IBM Facebook page follow: Imagine if IBM US had to have just cause when firing every US employee they had quotlaid offquot. No more of this quotyou are a great worker but we are rebalancing to meet our needsquot bull. Fascinating. Very different culture, where I think jobs are still considered a lifetime decision. quotFired. quot Yup. Thats what happens here too. quotthey were fired without. proper reasonsquot. Interesting. I wonder if all the 5K fired in May 2009 were given a proper reason Oh, and notice how The Japan Times uses the word FIRED and not the corporate euphemisms of laid off or resource reduced or downsized or resource actioned I, Cringely: Is IBM guilty of age discrimination Part one. By Robert X. Cringely. Excerpts: Is IBM guilty of age discrimination in its recent huge layoff of U. S. workers Frankly I dont know. But I know how to find out, and this is part one of that process. Part two will follow on Friday. Heres what I need you to do. If you are a U. S. IBMer age 40 or older who is part of the current Resource Action you have the right under Section 201, Subsection H of the Older Worker Benefit Protection Act of 1990 (OWBPA) to request information from IBM on which employees were involved in the RA and their ages and which employees were not selected and their ages. Quick like a bunny, ask your manager to give you this information which they are required by law to do. Then, of course, please share this information anonymously with me. Once we have a sense of the scope and age distribution of this layoff I will publish part two. Selected reader comments follow: IBM found a way around this two years ago: ctemploymentlawblog201405articleshas-ibm-found-a-way-around-the-owbpa-and-should-others-follow Short version: they will provide this data only if the employee insists on arbitration, at which point they will provide the data to the arbitrator, not you. If Im not mistaken, taking the arbitration path also completely disqualifies you from the separation package, leaving you with nothing. Its not a great package but its better than nothing, whos going to do that Well, I studied this topic, just a bit, in my first year in law school, but that was 13 years ago. Still, the employer cant use their bargaining power advantage to take away an already existing right. The problem with fighting that is that you have to sign up a lawyer to fight this for you. A note to all who dont already know this, but law suits are the sport of kings. We read a book called The process is the punishment. IBM amp Donald Trump can file a law suit every time they exhale. But most people are broken by the process. So, if you are getting laid off you are rarely in a position to file a law suit. Now some lawyers will take it on a contingency basis, and maybe with a notorious opponent like IBM they might. But IBM is surely counting on people who are losing their jobs arent going to be in a position strong enough to file a law suit. There might be some guy working there, who does it because he loves it, not because he needs the money and might file, but most people wont. As Bernie Sanders says, the game is rigged. Actually I think George Carlin said it even better. Its a club and youre not in it. When I was RAd in 2003, part of the package I received was a listing of every person included in the RA, by position, location, and age (names were not included.) Supposedly this was to show that there was no discrimination, even though even then it appeared to be skewed toward those over 40. I managed to escape that RA and stay with IBM, and have been with the company since then, for a total of 17 years and countless RAs. Several years ago, IBM stopped giving out the position, location, and age information, citing privacy concerns (yeah right.) I will say that based on my observations, they seem to go after people approaching retirement age (because if they can call it a retirement, it doesnt count as a layoff) and those who work from home or in smaller locations (so that the W. A.R. N. act isnt triggered in the U. S.) Watching IBM: Initial survey results of March 2nd RA. Editors note: Survey results for the following questions are displayed in graphical format: Were you laid off in the recent (March 2 or thereabouts) quotResource Actionquot at IBM Do you think that age discrimination was a factor in your being affected What was your performance review rating for 2015 If you received a quot3quot or lower, how justified was it in your opinion Were you replaced by an H1B visa holder, a contractor, or was your job offshored Selected comments on the Watching IBM Facebook page regarding this survey follow: Whole company is a disgrace. Worked for IBM in Tulsa and management was a joke. 1st line managers and on up. Glad to be free for 8 years from there. Nothing new here, IBM has been doing quotage discrimination quot for a very long time. It has been going on since way back in 2000 maybe longer and miss treating the workers too having had to train the replacements in India when the jobs got sent to them. Im glad to be walking away now while I can still walk. I asked to go with this layoff because I got tired of the BS and them continually taking away my benefits year after year. I hope they survive until I reach Medicare age to stay on their health care then I hope they go quotbelly upquot with lawsuits up the wazzoo against the top officers and board. What bothers me the most as I leave on my own terms is that we were told at the beginning of the year no raises or bonus. The executives were not included. yes I am in my upper 50s. Age discrimination goes back to 1992. Once Gerstner arrived, HR became a tool for discrimination. Watching IBM FaceBook Page. Selected posts follow: Watching IBM: Watching IBM is hearing that more US job cuts will take place at the end of March and JuneJuly. Expect cuts every quarter. As always keep this site informed and updated. Time for the Big Blue Flu worldwide. Very sad, because they are clearly way past the dead weight and cutting into some very good people now. Cant tell you how many people were in disbelief and what their comments were when they heard that this happened to me. And management. is by and large. totally protected. Imagine. aspiring to be a manager just so you can be protected from being RAed. Watching IBM: Hearing that the next cuts will target lower management as well as workers. I cant believe that Im saying this, but IBM has some pretty good people in line management positions. My hope is that theyre able to separate the wheat from the chaff. From my experience, the good ones are fewer and fewer as the management teams have become more politically motivated and less employee-oriented. The Peter Principle in full bloom. Watching IBM: This just in for the US: Manager HR training conducted today for identification. Names due to HR by the 11th. Roughly 15 of analytics, 30 of Cognitive tech sales effected. Same package as before, 90 day notice, 30 day comp. I wonder if any of these are from companies we acquired in the last year or so, or if these are legacy blue. The board and top tier executives will do very well in 2016. If you have been RAd, contact Sara Blackwell at: theblackwellfirm or protectusworkers. org. Sara will review your severance package at NO cost. Sara is currently working with Disney and Abbott Lab employees as well. Saras phone number is: 941-961-3046 email: saratheblackwellfirm Respect for the individual--Tom Watson, Jr, when IBM was a great company. IBM basic beliefs died the day LVG was placed in charge. Its all driven by pure greed from the top down. I wonder how much money they need to be happy. Thought analytics and cognitive were supposed to be growth areas More nails in the coffin of a company that at one time was head and shoulders above the all the rest. They sold out to the myopic lure of pursuing fiscal metrics over their core conscience. Watching IBM: Watching IBM has received a tip about possible job cuts at IBM Toronto and Markham today 331. Please message me information or confirmation if you want to remain anonymous. UPDATE: Getting word that employees are being notified and sent home. Reports of one on one meetings scheduled. Toronto, Markham, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Montreal. Watching IBM: Posted in timeline: Were 12 in our team in Montreal. 3 permanents and 9 contractors. We had our quotmeetingquot Thursday morning which our team lead gave. Basically saying that IBM is laying off perms with 20, 30, 40 years, but contractors are safe for now. After the meeting the other 2 perms had a one-on-one with our manager. I never saw them back at work since then. NO email was ever sent out letting us know whats going on with our team. Watching IBM: Many private messages today about the job cuts in Canada. A bleak day for those workers. Although some are finally glad they have been released from quothellquot. For TorontoMarkham appears to be GTSGBS. Rumour has it that those spared this time around will be hit next quarter. Basically jobs are offshoredgiven to contractors. Any non-customer-facing FTE is fair game. Watching IBM: Sent to Watching IBM: 185 RAs announced for ANZ (AustraliaNew Zealand) three weeks ago. Conditionspayouts have been reduced from 2 weeks pay for every year of service (capped at 20 years) to a maximum of 16 weeks pay for 10 years with an end date of 10 weeks post being told with the requirement of working up to the end date or lose the benefits all together. Many long-term IBMers have been targeted across GBSGTS. It is expected three more rounds to occur this year with the next round being a smaller number of around 70 to be targeted. The total year end figure is approx 600 to go by year end. Am I reading this right. Australia is getting a better buy out package than the poor folks here in the the grand ol USA Any country gets a better deal than the US because other countries have laws that regulate this and provide for minimums. Watching IBM: This just in: Next round of RAs in US are imminent. HR to hold meetings this week. Pretty deep cuts in tech sales for US. 17 of the tech sales force is to be RAd to make room in July for new Open Source positions. Code name Project Solitaire. Departure date June 30th. Be aware that in past RAs it has been 30 and 60 day notice. Good grief. Cutting technical sales I was in tech sales and I was cut on 32. Death of what was once the premier marketing company in the world. Good lord, they have not finished the current RA yet and another one is imminent This has happened in the past. One set of RAs were only 2 weeks apart. Watching IBM: Sent to Watching IBM: 225 people in the IBM Sweden Kista Office to get notice. Announced today. 160 in Denmark. 900 in Germany. Only voluntary leaves in Austria. Germany is a first time ever enforced redundancy. Monthly job cuts in SAP in The Philippines. 360 in France (GTS) Estimated 100 in IBM Chile, 100 in Switzerland. IBMs death spiral. From 100b revenue to 80b revenue. 20 reduction in workforce to match. They need to empower employees to value the client. Otherwise ground zero approaches fast. Today the IBM Germany CEO announced that 900 jobs are obsolete. Affected are GBS (Global Business Solutions), MBS (ManagementampBusiness Support) and BampTS (BusinessampTechnology Services). Separation should happen in socially acceptable way within 12 months. From Germany: IBM to close down IBM BampTS (Business amp Tech. Services) in DACH (GermanyAustriaSwitzerland) until March 31 2017 latest. Jobs go to IDCsCIC in eastern Europe. Glassdoor IBM reviews. Selected reviews follow: quotGood working environment for womenquot Former Employee 8212 Associate Systems Engineer in Bangalore (India). I worked at IBM (less than a year). Pros: A lot of facilities for women, good training programs, good personality development programs. Cons: Difficult to get recognized because of its large work force. quotDelivery Project Executivequot Current Employee 8212 Lead Delivery Project Executive in Fulton, MO. I have been working at IBM full-time (more than a year). Pros: Great company, has served me well over the years. Cons: Not a ton of room for growth. quotIBM not what it used to be. quot Current Employee 8212 IT Specialist in Boston, MA. I have been working at IBM full-time (more than 10 years). Pros: It used to be a good company to work for. Cons: Wall Street driven, 14 layers on management and they dont care about their employees anymore. Advice to Management: Need less of them. quotDeclining Companyquot Current Employee 8212 Unix Team Lead in Poughkeepsie, NY. Pros: Flexibility of hours, good technical people. Access to work on many important projects access to large enterprise computing equipment and environments. Cons: Terrible treatment by executives. No increases, poor bonus even for top performance, terrible morale. Advice to Management: Cheaper isnt better. quotNot good for freshers. good organisation for retirementquot Current Employee 8212 Associate Systems Engineer in Pune (India). I have been working at IBM full-time (more than 3 years). Work from home Work culture is good. Employees are respected. Bad pays No increments. Pathetic bonus Pathetic resource allocation. No one considers your primary skill, they just throw you in any random project. Too many managers and less working resources. Managers totally lack technical understanding again because they are also allocated as per point 4. Worst management. Impossible to find the HR. Advice to Management: Management sucks. And HR sucks even more quotFinancial Analyst (Expense)quot Current Employee 8212 Financial Analyst in Rochester, MN. I have been working at IBM full-time (more than a year). Pros: Great job to gain valuable experience and the agile principles that corporate has implemented show promise for better management in the future. Also, great place for young professionals as there are many recent college graduates at the office. One of the best work-life balances Ive seen for an entry level position as there are ample opportunities to work from homeremotely and paid time off is good for entry level. Cons: High turnover for employees (leaving for better opportunities, not fired) and even small changes can take months to become implemented. Even in Rochester, cost of living is essentially the same as MSP but employees are not compensated as such. Not the only option but the best option to make a salary that is comparable to an FA in the MSP area is to move to New York where cost of living is much higher as well. Advice to Management: Work on new hire training as the current training is too broad and much of it did not apply to my role. quotSoftware Developerquot Former Employee 8212 Anonymous Employee. Pros: They make it a fun place to work at. Cons: NO cons that I can say. Advice to Management: Keep doing what you are doing. quotNot your fathers IBMquot Former Employee 8212 Sales Specialist in Newark, NJ. Pros: Access to great thought-leaders world-class IP, great experience when you have a team that communicates well. Cons: Politics can get a bit chippy between the different business units justifying cost of solutions to customers can be challenging over-reliance on managing to numbers sometimes conflicts with making wise decisions slow moving to a SaaS-based world. Advice to Management: The coarsening of the culture is noticeable. Its not what it once was. quotITquot Former Employee 8212 Anonymous Employee. I worked at IBM (more than 10 years). Pros: Ability to work from home but that might be changing. Awesome peers and everyone work well. Benefits werent too bad, but they could be better. It did go down every year but you still have choices. Cons: Non competitive pay, severance package was an insult. Severance package was recently changed and I doubt it will get any better. Cut peers and you have to split their work between whoever is left. Advice to Management: Loyalty goes a long way, go back to your roots and make your employee proud to say they work for IBM. quotHorrible leadershipquot Current Employee 8212 Manager in Boulder, MT. I have been working at IBM (more than 5 years). Pros: Decent work and good people. The clients are large and are looking for solutions to business problems. Cons: Executives as a whole are completely useless. Individually they state they are powerless to effect change. In groups they are simple-minded group thinkers. The main problem is that execs are only operating on short-term financial goals while talking out the sides of their mouth to the rest of the business. Advice to Management: Cut your own pay and ranks. Show you are worth listening to because right now you have no integrity. quotIT Servicesquot Former Employee 8212 Anonymous Employee. I worked at IBM full-time (more than 10 years). Pros: IBM provides lots of pretty advancement opportunities IF you can take the time to look for them and IF they are not in another one of their many many downsizing projects which seems to always be going on. IBM employment looks nice on the resume. Cons: IBM is not what it used to be and they do not care at all about their employees in my opinion. Like so many other big companies, its all about making more money than they did last year regardless of what that means to their employees. Working for IBM used to mean a lot more than it does now. Advice to Management: Stop being so bloody greedy and show some loyalty the many people who make your company run One of these days you will cut one too many US jobs and hire folks that have no idea what they are doing offshore. quotGreat Internshipquot Former Employee 8212 IT Administrative in New York, NY. Pros: Really laid back environment. They expect a lot of you, but really allow you freedom if you get the work done that you need to do. Cons: There wasnt a community culture that I was able to join or tap into. Everyone punched in and punched out. It would have been nice to bond more with my coworkers. Advice to Management: Dont require college degrees. I was prevented from continuing my internship into a position simply because I did not have an undergraduate degree. quotNot too bad 8212 Not too good. quot Former Employee 8212 Business Analyst in Delray Beach, FL. I worked at IBM full-time (more than 10 years). Pros: The people I worked with truly cared about getting the job done - and done right. My boss respected me and we had great 2-way communication. Cons: Many times it was quotduck and coverquot. It seemed like upper management were only looking to find ways to cut costs. Sometimes you cut a little too deep. Advice to Management: Look out for your people. Truth to power needs to be used much more. Robbing Peter to pay Paul is not a good idea. (Projects). quotMy 21 years at IBMquot Former Employee 8212 Sales Director in Miami, FL. I worked at IBM full-time (more than 10 years). You really work with very smart people, best of class Extensive portfolio of business solutions Multicultural exposure and international experience Can create your own path and re-design your career as needed Edge technology in some areas If you know how to navigate the network you will always will find the top resource for every solution Commitment to clients and stock holders. It is strategically ran by CFOs and a huge bunch of bureaucrats that never had client or field experience. Too many old guys that already made millions trying to apply changes to adapt to new time. Too fragmented in different PampLs that focus on their own mini-results affecting the whole. Senior Leadership is not accountable at all for their multi-year lame results and continue cashing bonus, while asking for accountability down and limiting truly organizational change. Ethics of firing people while cashing big bonuses at the top because of bad results. Disparity of salary structures. Lost focus on employees. Advice to Management: A generational change at senior executive level is urgently required. All of the Band AA and A should go, as most of the band B. Company should get rid of most GBS Consultancy area and other low-profit services, and focus on technological edge competitive solutions to expand its market, complementary to Watson. Infrastructure Software and Services should be merged and offered on the cloud. quotOkay Companyquot Current Employee 8212 Senior Consultant in Washington, DC. I have been working at IBM (more than a year). Pros: Decent starting salary. Your experience could be good if you happen to be on a good team. Cons: Very inconsistent manager. If you are stuck with a bad manager, your experience will not be good. There is no sense of loyalty if your utilization drops, youre out the door. Advice to Management: Give bigger bonuses. quotA good company terribly managedquot Current Employee 8212 Cloud Software Developer in Guadalajara, Jalisco (Mexico). I have been working at IBM full-time (less than a year). Pros: Great culture, great talent, very good work-life balance and a great brand with some cool ideas. The company has many assets, but the most important of them is the people and the talent working there. Cons: IBM has become a very unstable company their finances are not good too much bureaucracy and layoffs even in quotstrategicquot areas just tell you how much the company cares for their talent. Advice to Management: Youre not doing enough and most are disconnected from reality. They live in a world that doesnt exist anymore, IBM loves to complicate things, the more complicated, the better, and that doesnt work anymore. Also, the Agile mentality is not true you can see it in small and big things. quotGlad to be gone end of Mayquot Current Employee 8212 Anonymous Employee in Los Angeles, CA. Pros: My first 15 years were very good. Literally got to see the world. Worked great projects and with great people. Work-life balance was pretty good. Enjoyed coming to work every day. Cons: Last 4 years nothing but resource actions. Very stressful. Was very happy to be laid off until my manager told me about the new severance packages. I felt totally disrespected considering all the work I put in over almost two decades. IBM could not pay me enough money to come back. The upside is Ive had multiple job offers already because of my IBM experience. Cant wait to be competing against IBM. Advice to Management: They can take their current severance package and. quotAwesomequot Current Employee 8212 Vice President in Dubai (United Arab Emirates.) Pros: Will to win. Determined. History of reinvention. Cons: 247 work. Competing priorities. Stress levels high. Advice to Management: Prioritize and focus. quotGraduate being sold to another companyquot Current Employee 8212 Software Developer in Hursley, England (UK). I have been working at IBM (less than a year). Pros: Great work-life balance, great team, decent starting salary. Cons: After 6 months of being at IBM in their graduate scheme they have already put me through redundancy but changed their mind last minute and have tried to sell our team to another company. So joining IBMs 2 year graduate scheme left me with no job security and half a years experience with them. Advice to Management: Maybe dont hire graduates if you plan to get rid of people shortly after with no regards to their situation. Maybe some future planning from a company this size could be good. quotGreat people, salary and benefitsquot Current Employee 8212 Technical Consultant in Manchester, England (UK). I have been working at IBM full-time (less than a year). 8212 People and pay. Availability of technology is fantastic and they encourage you to participate in the IBM communities. Company car if youre eligible as well. Cons: HR and general admin is cumbersome. There are 3 different systems for everything, so for example, you have to record your vacation time in 3 separate systems. Advice to Management: Streamline onboarding for new hires. Its embarrassing having to ask every time you need the toilet just because you dont have a pass. quotIT Specialistquot Former Employee 8212 Anonymous Employee. I worked at IBM full-time (more than 5 years). Pros: great networking opportunities, good work environment. Cons: Hard to get training approved, more focus on cost savings than anything else. Makes project-based travel (which is necessary) very hard. Advice to Management: You cant project the goals for the company to each employee. Realistic project and selling goals need to be the focus, as well as talent training otherwise the young ones will leave. quotLove the people 8212 execs out of touchquot Current Employee 8212 Client Executive in San Antonio, TX. I have been working at IBM full-time (more than 5 years). Pros: I work with some of the brightest, most creative and fun people Ive ever met. They work together to bring new things to clients despite corporate. Cons: Corporate tends to make severe course corrections with little to no warning. No longer a sales culture, but managed by spreadsheet and financial engineering. The result is that you never know if youve won the lottery or about to be laid off. Advice to Management: Reducing feet on the street and acquiring new niche firms will not transform your cost basis nor solve the issue of declining top-line revenue. Alliance for Retired Americans Friday Alert 8212 April 1, 2016 (PDF). Stories this week include: Supreme Court Split in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association is a Win for Labor Seniors in Physically Demanding Jobs Rely More on Social Security In Canada Old Age Security Eligibility to be Lowered Back to 65 Again Sign up for Midwest Regional Conference in Detroit Extended to April 8th News and Comments Concerning ExtendHealth (New Medical Plan for Medicare-Eligible IBM Retirees) If you hire good people and treat them well, they will try to do a good job. They will stimulate one another by their vigor and example. They will set a fast pace for themselves. Then if they are well led and occasionally inspired, if they understand what the company is trying to do and know they will share in its sucess, they will contribute in a major way. The customer will get the superior service he is looking for. The result is profit to customers, employees, and to stcckholders. 8212Thomas J. Watson, Jr. from A Business and Its Beliefs: The Ideas That Helped Build IBM. This site is designed to allow IBM Employees to communicate and share methods of protecting their rights through the establishment of an IBM Employees Labor Union. Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act states it is a violation for Employers to spy on union gatherings, or pretend to spy. For the purpose of the National Labor Relations Act, notice is given that this site and all of its content, messages, communications, or other content is considered to be a union gathering.