Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Making ‘Dinobabies’ Extinct: IBM’s Push for a Younger Work Force
The New York Times ^ | Noam Scheiber

Posted on 02/14/2022 6:38:58 PM PST by anthropocene_x

Top IBM executives were directly involved in discussions about the need to reduce the portion of older employees at the company, sometimes disparaging them with terms of art like “dinobabies.”

A trove of previously sealed documents made public by a Federal District Court on Friday show IBM executives discussing plans to phase out older employees.

Now it appears that top IBM executives were directly involved in discussions about the need to reduce the portion of older employees at the company, sometimes disparaging them with terms of art like “dinobabies.”

A trove of previously sealed documents made public by a Federal District Court on Friday show executives discussing plans to phase out older employees and bemoaning the company’s relatively low percentage of millennials.

An email by a top executive, appearing to refer to older workers, mentions a plan to “accelerate change by inviting the ‘dinobabies’ (new species) to leave” and make them an “extinct species.”

Another email refers to IBM’s “dated maternal workforce,” an apparent allusion to older women, and says: “This is what must change. They really don’t understand social or engagement. Not digital natives. A real threat for us.”

IBM sought to eliminate older workers by requiring them to move to a different part of the country to keep their jobs, assuming that most would decline to move.

And while IBM employees designated for layoffs were officially allowed to apply for open jobs within the company, other evidence included in the new disclosure suggests that the company discouraged managers from actually hiring them. For example, according to the statement of material facts, managers had to request approval from corporate headquarters if they wanted to move ahead with a hire.

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Chit/Chat; Miscellaneous; Society
KEYWORDS: agediscrimination; bigtech; ibm; labor
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-58 next last

1 posted on 02/14/2022 6:38:58 PM PST by anthropocene_x
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: anthropocene_x

IBM is going to be writing some really big checks soon.

L


2 posted on 02/14/2022 6:43:20 PM PST by Lurker (Peaceful coexistence with the Left is not possible. Stop pretending that it is.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Lurker

It sounds like IBM does not understand emails.

They are forever!


3 posted on 02/14/2022 6:45:08 PM PST by cgbg (A kleptocracy--if they can keep it. Think of it as the Cantillon Effect in action.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: anthropocene_x

IBM has been losing business and revenue for decades. Their idea of how to modernize is comically out of touch - let’s get rid of older people who know what they’re doing, and hire young people who will work for low salaries. What could possibly go wrong?


4 posted on 02/14/2022 6:47:26 PM PST by proxy_user
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: anthropocene_x

their mature product line...


5 posted on 02/14/2022 6:48:53 PM PST by Chode (there is no fall back position, there's no rally point, there is no LZ... we're on our own. #FJB)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: anthropocene_x
Full Article
6 posted on 02/14/2022 6:53:15 PM PST by Theoria
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: anthropocene_x

I worked for a while with someone who was dinobabied out of IBM.

He came to worked where I did for the five years it took to get vested in the retirement and keep medical insurance until he could finally retire.

He did not look kindly on IBM.


7 posted on 02/14/2022 6:55:45 PM PST by seowulf (Civilization begins with order, grows with liberty, and dies with chaos...Will Durant)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: anthropocene_x

It’s not just IBM, it’s SOP throughout the industry. Apparently IBM is the only one with management stupid enough to put it in writing, though.

Almost invariably, once a company conducts a thorough purge of the old, about six months later they discover they’ve also pushed crucial knowledge and experience out the door. Then they begin putting out feelers to former employees, to see if they are willing to come back as contractors.

I can’t begin to tell you how good it feels to be in a position to tell your former employer to f*** off when they ask you to come back as a contractor. But trust me, it feels REALLY good!


8 posted on 02/14/2022 7:00:52 PM PST by Flatus I. Maximus (If black lives matter, why do black people keep shooting each other? )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: cgbg

> It sounds like IBM does not understand emails.

They’re not digital natives ;-)

I was listening to a presentation by an MIT cyber security group and they said that as a test when somebody was sent an email saying don’t open an attachment to that email as it could damage your system, there was a direct relationship between seniority and who opened the attachment.

i.e. leadership thought thinks that consequences don’t apply to them.


9 posted on 02/14/2022 7:03:16 PM PST by glorgau
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Flatus I. Maximus

A good friend of mine just experienced that from AT&T. Don’t know if he has been asked back yet. But this is a guy who knows how to make serious cell tower comms happen.


10 posted on 02/14/2022 7:06:25 PM PST by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Flatus I. Maximus

It’s SOP in corporate America tout court. Once you’re past 50, you’re unemployable. The millennials know this as well as anyone, which makes them even more desperate to move their elders out of the way so they can get the high-paying promotions right now. Age discrimination happens all the time, and is almost impossible to prove.


11 posted on 02/14/2022 7:07:26 PM PST by Romulus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: anthropocene_x

The IBM execs, older employees themselves, are ok to stay. Just all the other older employees have to go, so they can hire younger, cheaper and lower paid employees. Perhaps some H1B-visa holders.


12 posted on 02/14/2022 7:10:06 PM PST by qaz123
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Flatus I. Maximus

More accurately,

IBM is the only one SO FAR to be caught putting this in writing.


13 posted on 02/14/2022 7:12:44 PM PST by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; not averse to Going Bronson.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: anthropocene_x

My kid got a job with IBM right out of college. I thought “score”. But after 8 months he announced he didn’t like corporate life and quit. I thought “WTF?”.

But, he may have been right. He’s doing pretty well training to be an airline pilot.


14 posted on 02/14/2022 7:14:09 PM PST by toast
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: anthropocene_x

“older workers”

I wonder what other demographic traits these workers might share...white and male perhaps?


15 posted on 02/14/2022 7:14:20 PM PST by suthener ( )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Flatus I. Maximus

“Up or Out” isn’t just for the military anymore.


16 posted on 02/14/2022 7:17:01 PM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Chode
"I want you to fire all the fat people."
17 posted on 02/14/2022 7:19:20 PM PST by rlmorel (Nothing can foster principles of freedom more effectively than the imposition of tyranny.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: anthropocene_x

I hope the lost wages and lost career benefits, fines and penalties put IBM out of business or close to being out of business. As an older worker challenged because of my age, I want to see these companies pay and pay big.


18 posted on 02/14/2022 7:23:39 PM PST by Reno89519 (FJB. Respect America, Embrace America, Buy American, Hire American.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: rlmorel

WTF is that??? LOL!!!


19 posted on 02/14/2022 7:24:12 PM PST by Chode (there is no fall back position, there's no rally point, there is no LZ... we're on our own. #FJB)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: anthropocene_x
I bet the A- holes at IBM who were making these decisions were old themselves.
20 posted on 02/14/2022 7:26:50 PM PST by dragonblustar (2 Peter 2:14,1 Corinthians 6:18-20)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-58 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson