IBM restructuring will slash 13,000 jobs in Europe
New York: International Business Machines (IBM) Corp. has said it's restructuring operations will result in the slashing of between 10,000 and 13,000 jobs, mostly in Europe.

The company also said that the pre-tax charge will amount to between $1.3 billion and $1.7 billion.

The majority of the layoffs are planned for Europe, where the company began cutting jobs even before it announced its disappointing first-quarter earnings last month. The cuts, which will affect between 3 and 4 per cent of IBM's 329,000-person work force, are in line with analysts' predictions.

IBM surprised investors in April when it missed first-quarter earnings estimates by 5 cents a share. IBM said it will run fewer services offices worldwide and it will reduce European managers.

"As a result, IBM will create a number of smaller, more flexible local operating units in Europe to increase direct client contact," a company press release stated.
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