In what WRALTechWire is told is a “broad-based” restructuring across IBM, “hundreds” of North Carolina workers received layoff notices Wednesday.

Layoffs affect all levels of management across the company.

While no formal announcement has been made outside the company and no notice has yet been filed with the state of North Carolina through a so-called WARN notice, a source who is very familiar with the restructuring tells WRALTechWire that IBM’s Tar Heel State workforce is taking a heavy hit.

Latest estimates are that IBM employs about 7,000 people in Research Triangle Park and about 10,000 across the state. IBM no longer discloses how many workers it has at any location, citing competitive reasons.

Workers are reporting that they have received “resource action” packages from their supervisors across various groups, according to information received by Alliance at IBM, the union seeking to represent IBM workers.

Among the first groups to report an “RA” – IBM speak for layoffs – was the Storage and Technology Group’s Storage Systems Development Group in RTP.

In a statement provided to WRALTechWire, spokesman Doug Shelton confirmed the restructuring but did not provide any details.

“Change is constant in the technology industry, and transformation is an essential feature of our business model. Consequently, some level of workforce remix is a constant requirement for our business,” Shelton said

“Given the competitive nature of our industry, we do not publicly discuss the details of staffing plans. IBM is investing in growth areas for the future: Big Data, cloud computing, social business and the growing mobile computing opportunity.

“The company has always invested in transformational areas, and as a result, we need to remix our skills so IBM can lead in these higher-value segments in both emerging markets and in more mature economies.”

IBM employees who receive a layoff notice can apply for open jobs elsewhere in the company.

The layoffs are part of a $1 billion “re-balancing” IBM disclosed in April that it would make before the end of the second quarter, which is June 30.

The re-balancing was promised by Chief Financial Officer Mark Loughridge.

Recent media reports also have noted layoff plans involving 13 percent of its workforce in France plus smaller numbers in Israel and other countries.

Big Blue is normally very reluctant to talk about layoffs, and many RAs take place across scattered locations to avoid mass layoff notifications as required by federal law.

“IBM resource action has started,” the union’s national coordinator Lee Conrad told WRALTechWire. “The first group is a unit in STG. Expect many more.”

The Alliance says it has received information from a “resource action packet” that indicates 121 STG layoffs.

Loughridge disclosed the re-balancing after a first-quarter earnings report that soon sparked talk IBM would sell off all or part of its server business, which has a high-profile RTP lab:

“Now remember, last year we had about $800 million in workforce re-balancing charges spread across the year. This year, we expect the workforce re-balancing charges to be closer to $1 billion and concentrated in the second quarter.”

Plans at that time were evolving. “So, we really haven’t finished the work for a specific action yet,” Loughridge said.

“Like last year, we expect the bulk of that charge to be outside the U.S., and with that on an all-in basis including all gains and charges, we’re confident we can achieve at least $16.70 of operating (earnings per share) for the year, just as we said in January.”

Earnings for the first quarter were $3 per share.

However, an IBM executive told WRALTechWire back in April that a re-balancing didn’t necessarily mean big job cuts.

A source reaffirmed those comments Wednesday morning.

“It could be restructuring, such as shifting one business from location to another,” he said in April on the condition of not being identified. Noting the move of a business group in one country last year, he noted “some people moved, and some didn’t.”

In a conference call with analysts Loughridge used the word “workforce” along with “balancing” and “re-balancing” more than a dozen times.

“Though we certainly don’t have a specific approved action, this [re-balancing] will result in a charge that will additionally impact the operating EPS we report,” Loughridge explained. “Like all years, we have a number of actions planned to improve the business for the long-term, acquiring and divesting businesses and re-balancing our resources. This results in charges in the second quarter and gains in the second half, which we expect will roughly offset for the year.”

Based on RA documents and other information, IBM laid off an estimated 2,000 U.S. employees alone last year – at least.