IBM is trying to purchase transformation velocity through acquisitions ($34B Red Hat, $11B Confluent) and AI platforms rather than reducing the organizational mass that slows everything down. The pattern repeats: buy the new thing, run it in parallel with the old thing, cut the old thing headcount slowly, declare progress.
Layoffs in small chunks to avoid WARN act, multiple management layers across 270K+ employees.
Using layoffs as primary adaptation (9,000 cuts), but AI business doubled.
Siloed divisions visible in names (SoftLayer, Neudesic, Cloud Classic vs new Cloud).
115 years old, still integrating $34B Red Hat, cannot sunset Cloud Classic cleanly.
25% cut rate in Cloud Classic, forever layoffs pattern, relocation disguised as policy.
Mixed model: software/consulting (asset-light) vs infrastructure (asset-heavy). $15B+ FCF.
270K employees and siloed divisions slow info flow, org changes via manager invites.
"You can buy agility but you cannot build it when you are carrying 115 years of mass."
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