Company: IBM
Date: 2014-03-06
Overall rating: 1/5
Employment status: current
Experience level: Senior

Company downsizing...opportunities limited
Pros: Good place to get your feet wet if you are newly graduated from college or have a Masters.  People still consider seeing IBM on a resume as a positive.  Variety of locations and the company is targeting interns and low cost employees.
Cons: Company is currently in a downsizing mode.  Thousands of workers are being fired (Resource Actioned) this quarter.  Overall goal is to reduce employee head count worldwide, but especially in the US.  Opportunities are limited at this time.  Older employees are targeted for the layoffs.  The yearly performance review cycle process is bogus and not effective.  They rate you based on quotas and in anticipation of the next Resource Action.  There have been no raises for a few years and the bonus program is all but eliminated except for a chosen few.

Very little work life balance.  You are asked to do more for less.  You are doing the work of 2, 3, 4 employees now since head count continues to decrease.  Sixty to seventy hour weeks are commonplace, as is weekend work.  The even removed the term "work-life balance" and replaced it with "work-life integration" in the charter.  There is no respect for the employee anymore, and in fact, that term was also removed from the charter.

Overall, salaries are a bit below industry standards and as mentioned above, there are no raises or even cost of living increases.

The company is on a down swing.  Many do not believe it will ever recover.  I tell you honestly, this is not the same IBM as we knew 20, 30, 40 years ago.  I've been with the company for close to 20 years now, and the changes are striking.  I know my time is coming and am making plans to land on my feet when it does.