Business

IBM Smacks Down PBS Tech Pundit, No Major Layoffs

It turns out that Robert X. Cringely’s “insider” information claiming impending IBM layoffs of 150,000 was dead wrong. IBM’s Patrick Kerin (General Manager Global Technology Services), Joanne Collins-Smee (General Manager Integrated Technology Delivery) and Patt Cronin (General Manager, Productivity Initiatives Integrated Technology Delivery) even crafted a memo to hammer home the point: “A recent external […]

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It turns out that Robert X. Cringely’s “insider” information claiming impending IBM layoffs of 150,000 was dead wrong. IBM’s Patrick Kerin (General Manager Global Technology Services), Joanne Collins-Smee (General Manager Integrated Technology Delivery) and Patt Cronin (General Manager, Productivity Initiatives Integrated Technology Delivery) even crafted a memo to hammer home the point:

“A recent external blog report suggesting that IBM is planning a massive layoff is causing unneeded activity. If this blog is generating concern in your unit, please feel free to use this information to assure your teams and business leaders that the blog is inaccurate, and relies on gross exaggerations.”

Cringely’s response? “Maybe the number WAS too high. Instead of 150,000, maybe the true number is only 100,000 or 75,000 or even 50,000.” Yes, and maybe he was just a little off, or a lot, or even a huge amount. And maybe the “X” stands for eXtremely wacky.