Tell Us How Ibm Ruined Your Health and Ability to Earn a Living Due to Greed and Inhumanity
by In a recent article called, "Sam Palmisano the biggest outsourcer of jobs out of the US to BRIC countries", we learned of the personal trageties and lose of both physical and mental health. We would like to hear more of your personal impressions and stories that effected your families or those of people you know or care about. This must be stopped, what is wrong that this can continue in the name of greed and prosperity for wall street and Sam Palmisano’s stock options and bonuses.
We have learned from a UK writer that these same draconian strategies are going on in the UK as well. That writer said that he must at a minimum rate 15% of his people unsatisfactory every year- who then go on a performance improvement plans that they never get well from and eventually let go. According to this UK commentary in the previously mentioned article- 50 UK Parliament representatives are trying to intercede on the practice to destroy these people’s pension plans as a result of these premature layoffs.
What’s concerning is that IBM’s mentally abusive and destructive strategies go on even though people are well aware of how it has destroyed lives and killed many. That is no exaggeration. We are aware of people whose lives and health were so destroyed by their IBM abuse that they have been devastated by both mental and physical health problems(high blood pressure,heart disease, diabetes) as a result of what happened to them there. Its is almost impossible to stop as the legal system allows this to go on. In the US there are no laws that are enforced to stop the mistreatment of employees. There are a few weak EEOC laws but they are not enforced, even when people get attorneys and try to get their rights enforced.
Exactly how many Primary care doctors, psychologists and psychiatrists have heard these stories as their patients health was destroyed by IBM, IBM typically tortures people out the door over a course of 6 months to a year-while the poor employee tries to keep his job.
The economy makes it tough to just pack up and find another job and for those in their 50s it is a particularly brutal thing. They are too old in the US economy to find other employment, they have a pension to protect and they have kids in college. Yet these poor weak mice are the ones that Sam Palmisano and other executives set their trap for as they can be replaced by less well paid employees either in the China or India. Its comforting to know that a few of IBM’s worst executive offenders like Debra Thompson who mistreated employees for years were finally let go, and that selfish and self centered executive VP Mark Oulette who let his all male staff torture women staff out while he played his fiddle like Nero was finally terminated. Reports suggest he was walked out the door. None of it helps their victims but it is at least a small amount of justice.
Lets hear your stories and impressions. Maybe the more this becomes common knowledge, we can get this information to the EEOC and ask for better treatment of workers in the US, and Obama will get a wake up call that Sam Palmisano is no one to invite to the White House for advice on getting US workers back to work.
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Every year contractors asked to take 10% rate cut because of tough economical times. Yeah like the billions in profit IBM make and the $25 million it can pay it’s dickhead CEO.
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Post CommentJim James
On November 9, 2009 at 11:55 am
Terric article -right on the mark. How does the Federal government lend a blind eye to these labor and EEOC violations- I seen where IBM executives make contributions to Presidential campaigns- I guess so they will look the other way
Bob Moffat
On November 11, 2009 at 9:50 pm
This article is spot on.
IBM has done the following:
1) Made huge profits and the CEO and VP’s continue to rake in huge bonuses
2) IBM cut pager pay by 50% a couple of years ago to be ‘more in line with the industry average’…yeah right!! They pay about $200 a week for pager pay. People at other companies I know pay between $400 and $700 a week.
3) IBM cut base salaries of many US workers by 15% since they lost a court case meaning they had to pay backlogged overtime claims.
4) IBM this year took away the $50 a head spirit event.
5) IBM this year said no band 6 and 7 employess can be paid overtime since ‘it is industry practice not to pay overtime’..yeah right! Band 6 and 7’s generally earn in the $40-80k bracket.
6) If you are unfortunate to come to IBM as part of an outsourcing deal, you will have to work 40 hours a week instead of your 35 or 37.5 then the next 4 hours will be free (this was before the overtime ban and now all overtime hours will not be compensated for)
7) Every finacial quarter inside IBM is crazy. Cutting contractor hours and the perm employees have to pick up the work and work like crazy for free just to keep things afloat (and for Fat Assed Sam Palmisano to increase his $25 million salary)
9) IBM contractors make crap money. Eg, average Project Manager contract pays around $70 an hour…an IBM PM will get $50 an hour. A technical consultant typically gets $60 an hour, an IBM Tech consultant will be on $35 an hour.
10) If you are in the lucky 10% in your team who was given a PBC1 rating, your pay raise will be like 1%-3%!! for a raise!
A promotion is like 3-5%!!
11) IBM India now has over 100,000 employees. IBM in North America and Europe has decreased their head counts by over 150,000 in the last 5 years.
12) Sam Palmisano is a fat, greedy prick. I hope he dies of a painful death.
mikelivingstone
On November 15, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Palmisano will be gone within 12 months, booted out for trashing the company.
IBM used to be great firm to do business with, but now its short staffed and overloaded, the quality of service has fallen.
If you look at stock-market value, Apple has now overtaken IBM, ergo Sam Palmisano is a failure. He’s all tactics and no strategy.
larry
On November 21, 2009 at 9:19 pm
Thank you for posting this article. I worked for IBM for 10 years and spent 7 of them training my replacements at 2 multinational corporations. I was affected by the 4/27/09 resource action. I am approaching the 50 mark and my daughters are near college age. I have watched probably close to 400 people personally be walked out of the customer sites as the government allows IBM and similar companies like Infosys, Tata to maximize the use of H-1B’s and L-1s. Very disturbing and something that haunts me every day.
swo
On November 22, 2009 at 11:12 am
I think some easy numbers to gather are people who are dying. Designing long, sedentary hours of work is unhealthy. Find the average age of death for people who have work for IBM for more than 15 years. I am sure a disproportion number are dying of cancer and heart disease. If you lay off older workers, these numbers are not tracked.
Most of the IBM population is old. The you numbers are very small, the pressure is on to work these people to their death. Especially in light of of reduced pensions and 401K failure.
spiritandenergy
On November 23, 2009 at 12:00 am
We appreciate your reponses……..
US_IBMer
On February 6, 2010 at 3:42 pm
People at IBM are smart enough to know that IBM is a company and is in business to make money. That is part of its commitment to the shareholders and reason of existence.
People also know that things are not always going to work out in their favor and decisions that are positive for the business and negative for the employee happen all the time.
Most folks will have an easier time of accept a layoff if its done respectfully and ample time and assistance is given to help a smooth transition into the next role (inside or outside the company) – Also if an employee delivers outstanding performance – one wonders why the company would want to just dump that resource rather than investing the time to recycle that resource – but thats a different discussion)
The problem lies in how they are going about making money – in doing so they are going against the third of the three IBMers core Values
* Dedication to every client’s success
* Innovation that matters, for our company and for the world
* Trust and personal responsibility in all relationships
As a result of screwing over people – treating them callously, coldly, and unethically, disrespectfully, not providing assistance or ample length of time to find the next assignment (which can all be proven time and time again) IBM are not showing any trust or personal responsibility for the relationship that exists between the IBM Company, the IBM manager and IBM employee.
In the end IBM is simply doing themselves a disservice due to the severe amount of lost Intellectual capital with each throw away layoff, and lost teaming/camaraderie (which as we know makes teams run like well oiled machines) – i know Thomas Watson Snr never intended for things to run like this.
Forgetting about the human aspect is a mistake – it will end up being bad for business and simply goes against the IBM published Values
Richard
On May 9, 2010 at 12:33 pm
IBM was my dream company, but after joining it, i realised it’s hell on earth, When i joined my Manager persuaded me to sign a training bond, I was not given time to consult my lawyers or even take the agreement home and study it before signing. I was told to ask any questions and i was provided answers for the same. Little did i know that i was trapped. Anways, I have to wait for 18 months more to get out of this hell, My Advise if your joining, Beware and be aware.
bob
On October 22, 2010 at 4:33 pm
One of my coworkers was working as part of a contract out of the country in one of these 3rd world locations IBM likes to outshore all their work. She was back on vacation, but feeling incredibly ill. She got some specialist appoints lines up (one being with a cardiologist). IBM decided they needed back at the customer site and told her to cut her vacation short. When she told her manager about the appointments and could she leave in two days after she had them, she was told to immediately get to the airport or she’s fired. A couple of weeks later she died of heart attack at the customer site.
For anybody ever considering joining IBM, stay away, it’s just not worth it