Up to 25% of IBM’s hardware division is being laid off

IBM recently sold its x86 server business to Lenovo, and that unfortunately has consequences for the company’s workers. The computing pioneer has confirmed that it’s cutting jobs as it concentrates its efforts on “cloud, analytics and cognitive computing.” While IBM isn’t revealing the scale of the layoffs, a source says that they include as much as 25 percent of the Systems and Technology division that produces servers. It’s a sad day for those affected by the cuts, but there is a silver lining here. 

IBM has confirmed that it’s laying off a portion of its workforce in order to focus on new priority areas, like the cloud, analytics, and cognitive computing. This means certain divisions of the company must see cuts. “As reported in our recent earnings briefing, IBM continues to rebalance its workforce to meet the changing requirements of its clients, and to pioneer new, high value segments of the IT industry,” IBM spokesman Doug Shelton told CNET in a statement. “To that end, IBM is positioning itself to lead in areas such as cloud, analytics and cognitive computing, and investing in these priority areas.” The company wouldn’t comment on the number of people being laid off or what divisions would be most affected. However, one source familiar with the plans told CNET that the layoffs entailed up to 25 percent in the Systems and Technology group — this is the group that makes IBM servers and is often referred to as the “hardware” division.