Lenovo, its work force swollen by several thousand employees after two major acquisitions in 2014, is offering buyouts to veteran workers.

The world’s No. 1 PC manufacturer says the offers are voluntary and includes several business units.

Just how many workers Lenovo hopes will accept the offer is unclear.

Lenovo employs some 4,000 people in the Triangle and the Triad. 

Responding to an inquiry from WRAL TechWire, Lenovo corporate spokesperson Ray Gorman said the buyout package is available through the end of the month.

“There is no predetermined number,” said Gorman, who is Lenovo’s executive director of external affairs. 


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He would not comment on whether layoffs might occur if targeted workers do not accept buyouts.

“We have not announced any layoffs and it is not our practice to speculate on the future,” he said.

The confirmation of the buyout offer comes on the same day that Lenovo Chairman and CEO Yang Yuanqing said the company would focus on integration of its 2014 acquisitions rather than look for more deals. Yang, speaking at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, told reporters that Lenovo also planned to reintroduce recently acquired Motorola smartphones in China in February.

Work force surged 10 percent

Lenovo has reported increasing revenues and profits over the past several quarters as its global share in personal computers, smartphones, servers and Internet-connected devices such as tablets has increased. Lenovo ranks No. 1 in PCs, No. 3 in smartphones and also in the top five server vendors. Its profits increased 19 percent over the previous year in quarterly earnings reported in November, but revenues fell short of analysts’ expectations. 

However, the more than $5 billion spent in acquiring IBM’s x86 server business and Google Motorola Mobility’s smartphone unit in 2014 added well over 6,000 workers to Lenovo’s headcount – more than 10 percent.

Nearly 2,000 alone were added when Lenovo absorbed the IBM unit, which was headquartered in RTP. Lenovo acquired and renovated additional office space at the former Sony Ericsson campus near its Morrisville headquarters to accommodate the large influx of IBMers.

Lenovo is now a $39 billion a year company with customers in some 160 countries and has more than 54,000 employees. it ranks No. 286 on the Global Fortune 500 list.

Why offer buyouts?

The buyouts are being offered to help Lenovo compete across multiple fronts, Gorman said.

“We are putting this program in place to support a career, talent and skill set transition that will help Lenovo remain competitive in a rapidly changing market place,” he explained. 

“It’s also of benefit for those employees who plan for an earlier retirement, want to pursue volunteer activities or are considering a second career.”

Gorman, who is based in Morrisville where the company operates one of its two global executive headquarters, said terms of the buyout offer were “confidential.”

The buyouts were offered to workers in the recently formed Enterprise Business Group, which includes the recently acquired x86 server business unit from IBM (NYSE: IBM) and “other business units as well,” Gorman said in response to a series of questions.

WRAL TechWire contacted Gorman after receiving information from outside the company.