Normally, IBM (NYSE: IBM) is quite careful to mix the ages of workers it lays off in order to steer clear of age discrimination suits as “resource action” documents reviewed by WRALTechWire over the years has shown. But in the case of one marketing group’s layoffs disclosed in an RA document on Wednesday, seasoned workers are taking the heaviest brunt of cuts.
According to the RA document distributed to members of the Corporate Marketing and Communications Group focused on market and knowledge insight are being laid off, nearly two thirds are age 50 or over. Workers over age 50 make up some 43 percent of the entire group.
WRALTechWire was provided a copy of the RA document. The RA is part of a $1 billion program that IBM calls a “rebalancing.”
Hundreds of IBMers in North Carolina are affected by the job cuts.
Of some 606 people listed in the document, 84 were informed that they must find another job within IBM or leave the company. That’s some 14 percent of the work group.
Among the 84, 52 are age 50 or over.
Sixteen of those are age 60.
The age range of those being cut begins at 26 and tops out at 68.
Overall, some 264 of the work group are 50 or older, according to the document.
Positions affected also range as high as the vice president level, with two facing the prospect of being laid off.
Another three “director” positions are to be cut.
Of the 84 positions, 13 others include “senior” in the total.
The group still will keep 36 vice presidents, according to the document.
IBM includes several different marketing organizations representing thousands of employees, a source familiar with IBM’s organization told WRALTechWire.
[IBM ARCHIVE: Check out more than a decade of IBM stories as reported in WRALTechWire.]
