Things are changing in corporate America and they are changing fast. There are things in the works many of us never would have thought possible a mere 10 years back. Get this PersonnelToday.com article. It covers IBM's plans to cut its staff drastically over the next several years.
Please keep in mind that IBM is no corporate fly-by-night. I worked there from 1984 to 1994 and until 1993 they had NEVER laid any off. They had kept their full employment policy intact since 1911. The company truly believed it owed its employees something, and it backed that by finding a spot for everyone on its payroll whether they were employable by the company or not.
Here's what the announced:
IT giant IBM told Personnel Today that the firm's global workforce of 399,000 permanent employees could reduce to 100,000 by 2017, the date by which the firm is due to complete its HR transformation programme.
This isn't something IBM is mulling over quietly. It's sharing this with the public. IBM plans on moving to an outsourcing model where employees will be brought in with no benefits and no guarantees for continued employment. They will be hired for projects and released when the project's over.
This is a drastic change in direction for company of that size and a VERY clear indicator that the historical employee / employer relationship is changing.
So what are we employees to do? I guess we could unionize. We could start campaigns evangelizing how demon corporations are stepping on the little guy. I'm sure that'll work really well. We have our robust U.S. auto and airlines industries as testaments to how well that works.
What we could all do is consider the entrepreneurial opportunities this could bring? Someone will still be building and selling computers and automobiles. Airplanes won't be flying themselves. The companies that will come out on top will have to reevaluate every position and prove that value it provides. And companies don't really have a choice here. If they don't do it, the new start up will do it for them and to them.
We have to keep in mind that we're no longer competing against the company across the street. We are competing with an educated Brazilian kid who doesn't need a whole lot to live on while he eats us alive. We're competing against an Asian investor who's come up some investment portfolios that with a lower cost model and higher returns. These and other ideas could catch on. Who knows?
This seems so downright Darwinian and we can sit here and fight it or
So I'm the one bringing you the bad news. I'm also the one filling you in what's going on out there. I'm hoping you're the one that's preparing, because you're seeing the signs instead of being the one getting blindsided by the huge truck labeled "new employment ideas" you should've have seen coming a mile away.
Hope this helps.
Please keep in mind that IBM is no corporate fly-by-night. I worked there from 1984 to 1994 and until 1993 they had NEVER laid any off. They had kept their full employment policy intact since 1911. The company truly believed it owed its employees something, and it backed that by finding a spot for everyone on its payroll whether they were employable by the company or not.
Here's what the announced:
IT giant IBM told Personnel Today that the firm's global workforce of 399,000 permanent employees could reduce to 100,000 by 2017, the date by which the firm is due to complete its HR transformation programme.
This isn't something IBM is mulling over quietly. It's sharing this with the public. IBM plans on moving to an outsourcing model where employees will be brought in with no benefits and no guarantees for continued employment. They will be hired for projects and released when the project's over.
This is a drastic change in direction for company of that size and a VERY clear indicator that the historical employee / employer relationship is changing.
So what are we employees to do? I guess we could unionize. We could start campaigns evangelizing how demon corporations are stepping on the little guy. I'm sure that'll work really well. We have our robust U.S. auto and airlines industries as testaments to how well that works.
What we could all do is consider the entrepreneurial opportunities this could bring? Someone will still be building and selling computers and automobiles. Airplanes won't be flying themselves. The companies that will come out on top will have to reevaluate every position and prove that value it provides. And companies don't really have a choice here. If they don't do it, the new start up will do it for them and to them.
We have to keep in mind that we're no longer competing against the company across the street. We are competing with an educated Brazilian kid who doesn't need a whole lot to live on while he eats us alive. We're competing against an Asian investor who's come up some investment portfolios that with a lower cost model and higher returns. These and other ideas could catch on. Who knows?
This seems so downright Darwinian and we can sit here and fight it or
- sharpen our skills,
- re-evaluate our position in terms of the value we deliver to our companies and
- stay connected to people both inside and outside our firms. (You never know when you're going to need a connection that's going to make you next job hunt a lot smoother.)
So I'm the one bringing you the bad news. I'm also the one filling you in what's going on out there. I'm hoping you're the one that's preparing, because you're seeing the signs instead of being the one getting blindsided by the huge truck labeled "new employment ideas" you should've have seen coming a mile away.
Hope this helps.