Company: IBM
Date: 2016-10-23
Overall rating: 2/5
Employment status: current
Experience level: Junior

Layoffs aka Resource Actions "RA" equal profits
Pros: The only thing that IBM knows how to do well after 105 years in business is hire talented employees.  The people you work with on a day to day basis are generally going to be the brightest, friendliest people you will ever meet.  Everyone also has a very well developed sense of "gallows humor".  We all know it is just a matter of when, not if we are going to be let go so IBM can report billions in revenue to the investors.
Cons: IBM excels are getting rid of people to show a profit.  They do not know how to use a department or business unit to actually make money, even if that department or business unit actually is making legit revenue.  IBM would rather get rid of 50% of a department, make everyone else take on all the responsibilities of those people, not let them take over time, and expect them to perform better than before. 

If you work for IBM, forget about ever getting a raise, let alone a promotion.  I work with people who have been here for over 30 years and the only pay change they ever had was a 15% pay cut.  At IBM, your not a person, your just a number.  So when they get rid of you, which is just a matter of time, they can show it as revenue for the quarter.  There is at least one lay off per quarter, every year, like clock work.  Layoffs are not based on performance, names are essentially chosen from a "virtual hat".  In my entire time I have had 2 performance reviews in 3 years.  I am supposed to have them once a month.  They mean nothing until they need to "RA" someone. 

There is no incentive to actually work hard but if you don't go home every day and work an additional 16 hours (for free, don't you dare claim that as hours worked) then you aren't doing your job.  That is when management will decide it is time for your performance review and make sure you get a low rating.  So, when they do pick a name from a hat, the only name in there is yours.  I still work here, but I see it happen all the time.