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ROCHESTER (KTTC) -- A fresh purge of full-time employees is underway at global computer giant IBM, and the so-called "resource action" is touching the massive complex in Rochester.
Other IBM units where there are reports of firings include Research Triangle Park, Raleigh, Lexington, East Fishkill, Poughkeepsie, and San Ramon.
IBM makes no apologies for the rounds of terminations, instead, insisting this is all part of its global business model.
IBM now operates in 170 countries, and one frustration of people who have lost their job here in Rochester has been that the same job, "their job," seems to open up somewhere on the other side of the world, like China or India.
This particular "resource action" may be fairly large when it's finished in 30 days -- one person is reporting on a public Internet board that his manager told him that across North America six thousand IBMers will lose their current jobs in this round of cuts. But any total number is difficult to verify. Those who are notified of terminations are usually encouraged to apply for other openings in the IBM system, either at their current site or at any other around the globe. And apparently, at least some older workers are being pushed toward retirement.
"I'm 60 years old and my manager (30 something and on the fast track) keeps reminding me that it is time for me to retire," writes one IBMer on a web message board. "I can't afford to retire. I'm good at what I do and I enjoy my work. My customers like me too and I get good feedback from them. But I feel like my manager is trying to force me out. I'm on the old pension plan. What should I do? Should I look for another job internally? He has already threatened to lower my appraisal saying that my performance is dropping. Any advice on what I should do?"
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