IBM Global Services lays off 1,000

IBM's Global Services group is laying off 1,000 people who don't have the necessary skills to develop its business.

Despite the involuntary redundancies, IBM will continue to hire people and a spokesman for the firm told the Wall Street Journal that the layoffs are no indication of the current health of its business.

Last year, IBM hired 19,000 people to work in its Global Services consulting arm but still made 1,000 people redundant in May, the paper reported.

"Periodically we do a review of people we have on board, resources and skills, what clients are asking for and what we think future needs are," a spokeswoman told the WSJ. The people being laid off didn't have the skills Global Services needed in its business, she added.

Decisions of who will lose their jobs will be made locally and reports suggest the layoffs will take in Europe and other locations around the world, as well as the US. Those who lost their jobs will be able to apply for other positions in IBM.

Global Services employs around 150,000 people, approximately half of who work in the States, and brings in around a third of IBM's revenues. IBM's combined workforce is around 315,000.

Unlike the PC and networking markets the services market has emerged through the recent slowdown in the tech economy relatively unscathed. ®

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