IBM starts winding down in Russia

IBM starts laying off its employees in Russia as part of winding down its operations in Russia

IBM has announced on Tuesday this week that they commencing an "orderly wind-down" of its business in Russia and as part of which they will be laying off its employees in Russia.

This announcement follows the company's statement in March when Russia declared an invasion of Ukraine.

"On March 7th, I shared with you our decision to suspend IBM’s business operations in Russia due to the war in Ukraine. Our focus for months has been on looking after the safety and security of IBMers and their families in impacted regions.

We chose to suspend operations so that we could evaluate longer-term options while continuing to pay and provide for our employees in Russia. As the consequences of the war continue to mount and uncertainty about its long-term ramifications grows, we have now made the decision to carry out an orderly wind-down of IBM’s business in Russia. We see this move as both right and necessary, and a natural next step following our business suspension.

This process will commence today and result in the separation of our local workforce. Our colleagues in Russia have, through no fault of their own, endured months of stress and uncertainty. We recognize that this news is difficult, and I want to assure them that IBM will continue to stand by them and take all reasonable steps to provide support and make their transition as orderly as possible."  CEO and Chairman IBM Arvind Krishna conveys this in his email to all the IBM employees.