The forthcoming round of layoffs coming at IBM (NYSE: IBM) is neither myth nor Greek tragedy. The reality is, several thousand IBMers can expect to lose their jobs in coming months.

“Confirmed. Layoff list to be submitted by Friday. Firings in Feb, usual 30 days,” wrote one IBMer at the union website for Big Blue-related job posts.

“Please take me. The end is bliss.”

The poster: “Bonkers.”

Egad. How sad.

The “resource action,” which is IBM-speak for job cuts, will start any day, insiders tell Alliance@IBM, the union seeking to represent Big Blue workers.

The process already has a name: “Project Apollo.” A year ago it was “Project Phoenix.”

Executives at the Systems and Technology Group must turn in layoff candidates by Jan. 24.

IBMers in the Triangle can expect to take a hit. Big Blue has an STG presence locally, and across the state IBM still employs some 9,500 people. That’s one of the country’s largest concentrations for the international giant even though numbers have declined 30 percent in recent years, as we reported last fall. Hundreds were cut in the 2012 layoffs. IBM’s employee headcount across the U.S. is well below 90,000, according to the Alliance.

New IBM Chief Financial Officer Martin Schroeter tipped his hands about the job cuts in a conference call Tuesday to discuss latest earnings in which IBM revenues fell – again. He said IBM would be spending $1 billion to finance the latest “rebalancing.”

Look for STG to take the biggest hit.

“Hardware continued to impact overall performance,” Schroeter said. “We’re dealing with some challenges in our hardware business models specific to power, storage and x86.”

x86 refers to servers, and that’s the business Lenovo reportedly is interested in buying after failing to strike a deal for the troubled group a year ago.

Schroeter, who succeeded the retired Mark Loughridge, said Chairman and CEO Ginny Rometty is ready to cut, sell, divest, and invest as she continues to reshape the IBM she inherited from Sam Palmisano. She is investing more in cloud computing and supercomputer “Watson.” She wants out of hardware.

IBM is being transformed to her vision as she seeks to turn around falling revenue numbers.

“We’ll continue our transformation, shifting our investments to the growth areas and mixing to higher value,” Schroeter said. “We’ll acquire key capabilities, we’ll divest businesses, and we’ll rebalance our workforce.”

Deja vu for Layoffs 

This a sequel to what IBM called a “rebalancing” a year ago that led to some 3,300 job losses in North America alone.

“The Alliance@IBM has received information that managers in Systems Technology Group and the acquired business Kenexa, must submit a list of names for a resource action by Friday, January 24th,” TheAlliance posted.

“This years resource actions, and there will be more through the first quarter, is code named project Apollo.”

The Union did acknowledge that Rometty had called for executives – including the chair and CEO – to forgo bonuses this year.

“CEO Rometty, in response to the earnings report said this:

 ”in view of the company’s overall results, my senior team and I have recommended that we forgo our personal annual incentive payment for 2013″.

“Big deal. They are rich enough to withstand that. They should forgo their jobs.

“As we go through another critical time for employees we need now more than ever for people to say no to Roadmap 2015. The Alliance is here to help organize and fight back.
Information is also key.”

Roadmap 2015 refers to the plan spelled out by Loughridge to reach higher per share earnings. 

Meanwhile, some IBMers are giving up.

“Well the reaults are out and they suck  … revenue down 5% to 99b,” posted “Sinking feeling.”

“We all know what that means. IBM is not worth working for anymore. I have decided to parachute out when I have the chance.”

The new “RA” means a lot of IBMers may have a chance to take a severance package – and bail. 

[IBM ARCHIVE: Check out more than a decade of IBM stories as reported in WRALTechWire.]