IBM confirms layoffs at 419

IBM has confirmed today that 419 workers were laid off in Vermont earlier this month. IBM, based locally in Essex Junction, had requested, for "competitive" reasons, that the number not be disclosed. IBM was required to, and did, reveal the numbers to the state under the "mass layoffs" rules that require an employer to notify the state within 24 hours of any layoffs exceeding 25 workers. In some cases, otherwise public information can be kept undisclosed if their revelation resulted in the loss of trade secrets. The state did not believe such was the case here, but asked IBM for more information to support its contention. At one point last week, a frustrated Governor Peter Shumlin said IBM should "just peel the Band-Aid off and give us the numbers."
The final number is very close to one estimated by the Essex town manager, and first reported by the Burlington Free Press, that the local layoffs would be about 450. The IBM workers who were dismissed in Vermont were part of a massive, global "resource action" undertaken by IBM in July.
IBM instituted the layoffs, which seemed to effect workers at all levels but hit the Technology unit especially hard, were the result of a poor quarterly report released in April. Profits were about $1 billion short of its $4 billion goal. The results of that quarterly report caused employees, union officials and other observers to warn that layoffs were imminent.
Vermont Department of Labor Commissioner Annie Noonan released the following statement:
"At noon today, IBM informed the Vermont Department of Labor that it will not object to the Department’s disclosure of the total number of employees impacted by the recent layoffs. IBM had previously provided the Department with information regarding employees impacted at IBM's Vermont facility, but had asked that the Department keep the information confidential, citing trade secret and related concerns. Today, in response to the Department's request for additional information, IBM Senior Counsel in Armonk, New York, advised the Department that IBM treats employee confidentiality very seriously. Recognizing that the Department has agreed that employee-identifying information must be exempt from public disclosure, IBM stated that it ‘will not object, under these circumstances, to DOL’s disclosure of the total number of impacted employees.’
Effective as of close of business July 12th, the number of workers impacted by the layoffs totaled 419."
‘I am very pleased that IBM has lifted its objection to sharing this number,’Noonan said. ‘IBM is a key employer in Vermont, and we continue to be grateful for its commitment to Vermont and to its commitment to working with us to get through this difficult time.’
The Department will continue to hold job fairs to connect laid-off workers with other employers.
‘It is clearly an incredibly difficult time for those employees who have been laid off," Noonan said. "The impact to the workers and their families can be painful, but the fact that they are an educated and skilled workforce will serve them well in transitioning to new jobs in Vermont.’