Christine Young interviewed me for about 60 minutes over a two day period and wrote an excellent article. Pasted here in it's entirety since it is not lengthy. If there is interest, I may post my report in detail. Frankly, while I think there is wide belief that companies shed older workers, most people feel that they can't do anything about it. That's how I feel. Shed. And I have to lie down and take it.
Ex-IBMer says layoffs target older worker
Rick Clark has advice for anyone considering a job at IBM: Plan that your career will end at age 50.
Clark, 51, a former IBM engineer with a master's degree, was stunned to learn on Jan. 27 that he would lose his job after 11 years. Not long before, his manager in East Fishkill had given him a substantial raise to prevent him from accepting a job offer from an outside company.
But it was true; Clark's severance paperwork showed he was among 1,213 employees, specified by age and position, in IBM's Systems & Technology Group to be terminated.
That's when Clark noticed something else.
"Most of the people selected for layoff were high ages," he said. "It looked like they had selected older workers."
Using spreadsheet software, Clark entered the ages and job titles of all 19,226 STG employees — also information in the severance paperwork — including those not chosen for termination.
His analysis found:
About 4 percent of those ages 20-49 were fired. About 8 percent of those ages 50-59 were fired. About 18 percent of those ages 60-69 were fired. The document explained that in choosing whom to let go, IBM had performed a "total assessment of an employee's relevant skills and performance within a job group, with seniority used as a tie-breaker."
Because 60 percent of those terminated were age 50 and older, it appeared using seniority as a tie-breaker meant more older workers were fired.
"If you're over 50, you have a one in five chance — 20 percent — of getting laid off," he said. "If you're in your 20s or 30s, you have a 3 percent chance of getting laid off."
Clark says his own findings shocked him.
"I expected maybe a slight skew," he said, "but it was startling to me how much of a skew it was."
Clark, who plans to become a schoolteacher, says he has no intention of suing IBM for age discrimination because such lawsuits are difficult to win, and he understands the company's goal is to cut costs.
"The higher salaries are earned by senior workers," he said. "I wouldn't accuse them of age discrimination, but the result is age discrimination."
"IBM complies with all applicable laws," IBM spokesman Doug Shelton said after reviewing Clark's report.
Clark, meanwhile, warns his aging former colleagues to plan an "exit strategy."
He advises over-50 IBMers to update their resumes, eliminate debt and "think about what you might want to do for a living for the rest of your working life."
Christine Young covers IBM. She can be reached at 346-3140 or cyoung@th-record.com. IBM Notebook appears Mondays.
