IBM to cut up to 13,000 jobs

IBM plans to cut 10,000 to 13,000 jobs, mainly in Europe. By laying off 4 percent of its workforce the company hopes to save about $300 million to $500 million this year, and another $1 billion or more during next year.

The cuts will generally be voluntary in Germany, Britain, Italy and France, but involuntary elsewhere, specifically in the US.

The restructuring will also involve some cutbacks in its global services business, which generated nearly $50 billion a year in revenue, or half of IBM's total last year. The plan partly reflects the need to control rising pension costs.

More details at Reuters