IBM's United States work force has been in decline for years, but it has recently shrunk more quickly.
News that IBM's American jobs were down to 105,000 came in a presentation to a congressional subcommittee by Maria Ferris, IBM's director of diversity, compliance and employee experience.
That means a decrease of 10,000 IBMers since the end of 2008, when it was 115,000.
Ferris' remarks were reported Nov. 16 as part of a pitch to relax some Fair Labor Standards Act provisions, which she said would increase workplace and time flexibility.
IBM has been cutting costs and raising profits. One way is "work force rebalancing," which involves shifting work around, often overseas, and U.S. downsizing.
"We've been saying that the offshoring of U.S. jobs would bring the IBM employee population down significantly, and I think we're seeing that now," said Lee Conrad, national organizer for Alliance@IBM, a workers' group based in Johnson City.
The Hudson Valley got a dose of downsizing this year. At IBM's East Fishkill plant, 340 jobs were cut, according to IBM documents filed with the state Department of Labor.
IBM cut about 100 to 120 jobs at its Endicott plant this year, Conrad has said, citing information from local employees.
Before the reporting act was toughened, other jobs at IBM plants were cut, however the company won't say how many.
No IBM spokesman in a position to comment could be reached. IBM has previously said it remains a major U.S. high-tech employer.
At the end of 2008, IBM had 398,455 employees globally, with the U.S. portion forming 28.9 percent of that.
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