Big Layoffs At IBM And TI

As the recession bites harder and harder, giants like IBM and Texas Instruments are announcing thousands of layoffs.

For anyone who thought IT would be fairly immune to the recession, it’s time to think again, as companies have gone to the wall, and even the biggest are shedding jobs.

IBM and Texas Instruments are the latest to announce layoffs, and the figures are eye-watering. TI has said it’s likely to get rid of 12% of its workforce, some 3,400 jobs, although 1,600 of those will be made up of those taking voluntary retirement and golden handshakes, the other 1,800 being layoffs.

Although the deal is likely to cost the company $300 million in severance pay, the annual salary savings will be around $700 million.

In a statement, Rich Templeton, TI chairman, president and chief executive officer, said:

"Most of the reductions will come in our internal support functions and non-core product lines so that a greater percentage of the dollars we spend will go directly toward developing and supporting Analog and Embedded Processing products. We believe these are the areas that will drive TI’s future growth and allow us to achieve our financial objectives."

"We are not counting on a near-term economic rebound for improvement. The actions we are taking to reduce expenses and inventory will position TI to deliver solid financial results, even in a period of prolonged economic weakness. When the economy strengthens, we’ll be pleased that we focused aggressively on our core product lines."

Over at IBM, the job losses could go even higher. The company has been tight-lipped about totals, but the Wall Street Journal has said IBM is likely to lose 2,800 jobs, and AP has cited union figures saying the number could top the 4,000 mark.