Tech giant IBM tells around 300 India employees to upskill or face sack

Tech giant IBM has put around 300 India employees on notice that they will face layoffs for failing to reskill and upskill, a person in the know told TechCircle, asking not to be named.

These employees are part of the services division, which includes technology and consultancy segments. The employees will also be given a chance to move to other teams in line with their skills, the person said, adding that less than half of the employees on notice might get axed.

The around 300 employees are part of the realignment programme, which is a continuous process taking place across divisions and locations in the country, the person said.

The New York-based company has around 100,000 employees in India, which is a little less than a third of its global workforce, around 360,000. IBM's US workforce is a little more than the India headcount. Most global services and consultancy firms have around half of their workforce stationed in India. 

In response to an email requesting details about the retrenchment, the tech giant said, “IBM has been in India for over 25 years and remains committed to being an essential part of its growth. IBM’s strategy is to re-invent itself to better meet the changing requirements of our business and to pioneer new high-value technologies.”

As per IBM's India careers page, the company has more than 1,200 open positions across divisions and locations in the country. The number of available jobs at IBM India is higher than any other country barring the United States (US), which has 1,400 open jobs.

"Modern-day infotech firms need a new set of skills," the person mentioned above said.

More than a century old, IBM has seen the technology industry undergoing multiple transformations and the cloud and digital technologies have given the firm reasons to rethink its strategy.