IBM laying off 2,000 employees not performing 'at a competitive level'

International Business Machines Corp. is laying off about 2,000 employees this week, according to news reports, as the company reshapes its business.

The move amounts to less than 1% of if its workforce, which totaled 350,600 at the end of last year.

IBM confirmed that a “small percentage of employees” who are not performing “at a competitive level” would be leaving the company. “We are continuing to re-position our team to align with our focus on the high value segments of the IT market – while aggressively hiring in critical new areas that deliver value for our clients and IBM," the company said in a statement.

The Wall Street Journal and CNBC earlier reported on the job cuts.
 

In 2016, the Armonk, New York-based company, started to cut jobs in the US as part of a strategy to shift its workforce toward cloud computing and artificial intelligence operations. It made additional reductions in 2017.

IBM has lagged behind the overall technology sector for years, with its 1% revenue growth in 2018 breaking a six-year run of declining sales. In the past, the tech giant has laid off staff in slower businesses in order to beef up resources in new areas. IBM has about 25,000 open job positions worldwide.