IBM slashes jobs in marketing and communication division

Technology giant IBM has announced a second round of job cuts in the space of a few months, this time impacting its marketing and communication division.

In February this year, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said in a statement that the company was cutting 3,900 positions in a bid to optimise efficiency and downsize in areas facing slower demand. The job cuts were made across the business – fee-earners and staff – and across its footprint worldwide.

Now, IBM has announced a second slashing of jobs, with professionals in the marketing and communication division to be made redundant or shifted into other roles within the company.

The news was broken by Jonathan Adashek, Chief Communications Officer at IBM, in a concise seven-minute meeting last week. Further details on the magnitude of the cuts and in which countries they will take place have not yet surfaced.

The impact on total headcount will not be significant, IBM employs 282,000 people worldwide.

While IBM has returned to growth in the final months of 2023, the company is continuing its sharp eye on costs. In discussion with CNBC, Chief Financial Officer James Kavanaugh said that “workforce rebalancing” remains a key priority for 2024.

Part of that drive is driven by the emergence of artificial intelligence. In August last year, IBM said in an earning calls that it plans to ultimately replace nearly 8,000 jobs – mostly back office-focused roles – with artificial intelligence.

In the marketing and communication division, Adashek noted that artificial intelligence will allow its teams to focus less on repetitive, administrative tasks and more on “being great communicators”.

Meanwhile, artificial intelligence is also a major opportunity for IBM. The US-headquartered company is investing heavily in the technology and related segments (such as generative AI and machine learning) with its Watson program. IBM supports its clients with exploring and implementing artificial intelligence solutions (driven by IBM Consulting), and with hosting applications in the cloud and managed services.