IBM denies plans to cut permanent staff by 75 percent

IBM has dismissed claims made by Personnel Today that it is considering cutting its permanent workforce by 75 percent over the next seven years.

The cuts were part of IBM's human resources transformation program which is due for completion by 2017 and would see staff numbers shrivel from 399,000 permanent employees to 100,000 the report claimed.

Personnel Today said that the information had come from Tim Ringo, IBM head of Human Capital Management, but an IBM spokesman told V3.co.uk that the comments cited in the report hold no merit.

"This was pure speculation about future job movements without any basis in fact. In fact, the comments run counter to IBM's history of growing its global workforce over each the last eight years," said the spokesman.

Ringo apparently said in the interview that IBM would rehire the workers as contractors, which would lead to savings in building costs and staff benefits.