Berkeley Lab Engineer Tapped To Head U.S. Energy R&D Agency

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- IBM Corp. has cut nearly 10,000 jobs this year, according to reports, although Big Blue still refuses to fess up to most of the layoffs. The Alliance@IBM/CWA Local 1701, an IBM union, claims IBM has implemented 17 separate layoffs for a total of 9,308 jobs this year, according to the Poughkeepsie Journal. That's been known for some time. Here's what is new: Big Blue is expected to cut a total of 16,000 jobs this year, many of which are in the United States, according to the union. This comes at a time when IBM is thriving despite the downturn. A spokesman for IBM dismissed those claims by that group. He confirmed that IBM has taken various ''resource actions,'' but he said the company cannot comment on the size or specifics. Defending Big Blue, the spokesman also made the following data points: 1) IBM is the largest hi-tech employer in the U.S.; 2) IBM has added jobs this year, including in the U.S.; 3) 60 percent of its workforce got raises; 4) IBM is not misleading the public and is transparent about its ''resource actions.'' IBM also discredits the union, saying that its information is false. ''When the Alliance says 10,000, that can't be accurate. People have opportunities to look at jobs elsewhere'' inside the company, the spokesman said. IBM declined to elaborate on how many jobs are offered to axed workers. And to a degree, Big Blue still won't fess up to the size of the job cuts. This is when I believe that IBM has credibility issues. I'm not the only one. For some time, the union has charged that IBM is cutting and outsourcing U.S. jobs, while quietly hiring in India. As expected, IBM did not comment on the cuts in the most recent report. On its Web site, the IBM union also lists in detail the various cuts in the individual divisions within IBM. That can be read here. On another entry, here's what the union alleges: ''As unemployment increases, IBM continues to abandon the U.S. workforce in favor of offshore workers. Not only is IBM shifting work from U.S. locations to low wage countries it is also importing foreign workers to replace U.S. workers.'' The union has urged IBM to stop replacing American workers with foreign workers, re-hire U.S. workers and stop offshoring U.S. jobs. The union said U.S. contracts to be staffed by U.S. workers. According to the union, three recent examples should raise the concern of all US workers: *''Advanced Auto Parts call center in Roanoke, Virginia. Outsourced to IBM. US workers terminated and call center offshored to India.'' *''New York City Department of Finance consulting contract on Servers. Outsourced to IBM. IBM brings in IBM India employees.'' *''UPS IT department. Outsourced to IBM. IBM India workers training onsite in NJ. Work to be moved to India.'' The IBM spokesman declined to comment on those reported moves. In a previous opinion piece, EE Times urged that IBM should come clean on the layoffs. Still, the computer giant has been able to skirt and remain mum about the layoff issue, because the layoffs fall short of 500 in a specific division, as defined by the so-called Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, or WARN Act. So be it. But as a result of the ongoing trends, I'll take our editorial a step further. In my opinion, IBM should not only fess up to the layoffs but it must stop misleading the public. Big Blue must address the charges about outsourcing U.S. jobs. It must also become more transparent about its activities in India. Another issue: Over the years, IBM has received public funding to expand its fab and chip-packaging activities in New York state. However, in recent times, the company has reportedly cut jobs at the fab site in East Fishkill, N.Y. and been somewhat slow to expand the plant. Some believe that the signs point to a stunning event: IBM could go fabless one day. Sure, IBM claims it has spent a total of $6 billion in chip-related funding in New York. It has help set up Albany Nanotech, a major R&D center. It works with other chip makers around the world. That is quite admirable. But IBM's fab worker population is a far cry today from what it was in its heyday in the 1970s and 1980s. It has fewer fabs than it did in the golden years. And much of its R&D funding comes from the state of New York and other sources. In my opinion, it must take a page from Intel Corp. and show a stronger stand--and commitment--to bring more fab jobs to the United States. The U.S. is in danger of going ''fabless'' as it shifts more of the manufacturing to Asia. In the 1980s, IBM would have considered that trend unacceptable. What happened to that Big Blue I knew? Stop misleading the public and becoming more transparent could be the start towards the IBM that I remember--and admired--in my early days in journalism.