With at least 800 IBM Corp. employees in the Hudson Valley region notified last week that they will lose their jobs, community leaders are mobilizing in an attempt to soften the blow on the area economy.
IBM employees in Dutchess County started receiving layoff notices on June 12, when the computer technologies giant told the state Department of Labor that 697 employees will lose their jobs in that county. A total of 369 workers will be let go from the East Fishkill plant and 328 from IBM”™s Poughkeepsie facility.
In Westchester County, the exact number of employees who will be affected at IBM headquarters in Armonk is unclear, though reportedly at least 100 workers have received notices. IBM has not officially notified the state of any impending layoffs in Westchester.
As of June 19, IBM had distributed 2,390 pink slips in North America, according to Alliance@IBM, a national group of union employees at IBM affiliated with Communications Workers of America. As many as 8,000 workers could lose their jobs worldwide as part of a $1 billion international company restructuring strategy.
Nationally, employees in the software group and marketing sectors took the biggest hit with 222 jobs eliminated, and the semiconductor research and development sector followed with 165 job cuts, according to Alliance@IBM.
In Dutchess County, the county, state and five organizations have combined forces and are prepared to take action once IBM notifies the Department of Labor of the exact number of those who will remain jobless as opposed to those who are retiring, being relocated within the company or who have received job offers at other companies. The county was scheduled this week after press time to have a teleconference with state labor officials to discuss the interaction the department had with IBM, according to Ron Hicks, Dutchess County”™s deputy commissioner for strategic planning and development.
“We know so far that IBM has hired firms to provide services that are similar to the ones the Labor Department has,” he said. “These unemployment services may simply be handled by IBM, and the most the workers might have to do is file for unemployment. But we don”™t know that yet. We need to be ready to go and set up sites where affected workers can meet with us and have access to hardware, software and the Internet. But we”™re reassured because IBM understands they have an obligation to transition these employees.”
The county has already identified three resource center locations in Poughkeepsie and southern Dutchess that could potentially be furnished with computers, copiers and phones for former IBM employees to help them with their job searches, Hicks said. The county has reached out to community organizations and has asked them to provide services including résumé writing workshops and budget counseling.
The Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce, a member of the alliance providing services to laid-off workers, plans to invite a larger-than-usual number of companies to its annual job fair, scheduled on Sept. 18. The venue will either be the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel or the Civic Center depending on how many people register to attend. In previous years, about 60 companies attended, but now the chamber is pushing for 100 by reaching out to companies in Westchester County and Albany.
“We”™re going to expand our numbers and engage more employers to participate as a result of the shift in IBM,” said Charles S. North, regional chamber president and CEO.. “We”™re also going to offer more seminars for those who are looking to learn how to find a job and write a résumé.”
U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, a Putnam County Democrat, said he would endorse a “community transition team” that brings together community organizations, elected officials and business leaders to help families affected by IBM”™s downsizing.
“This is devastating news for our neighbors and friends at IBM,” Maloney said in a press release. “But I want them to know that their community is here for them, and we will do whatever possible to get them through this difficult time and get them back to work as soon as possible.”
Although Westchester stands in a holding pattern until it has a better grasp of the number of residents who will be unemployed, county officials said they will be ready to assist when needed. Eileen Mildenberger, director of the Westchester Office of Economic Development, said if software-related positions are where the cuts come from, there is optimism those laid off won”™t be out of work long.
“The Hudson Valley has high-tech industries that are growing and high-skilled laborers are needed to work there,” she said. “We also provide resources that help employees seeking jobs and match them up through our workforce investment board.”
Meanwhile, in Armonk near IBM headquarters, store owners hoped that ripple effects from the cuts wouldn”™t rattle stores in the region.
Tazza Caf̩, at 382 Main St. in downtown Armonk, has still been getting a slew of customers during its morning coffee rushes and afternoon lunch breaks. ItӪs been business as usual, said caf̩ owner James Monica.
“We see a decent amount of people who say they”™re with IBM, but they”™re mostly people who visit IBM to do business there, not the regular employees,” Monica said.
Nearby, at DeCicco”™s, a grocery store that opened this month, owner and president John DeCicco looked at the bright side of the cuts.
“If layoffs at IBM continue, it helps us be a better company,” DeCicco said. “Usually people don”™t see the supermarket business as glamorous and high-paying, but when the time comes, we hire people with different educational levels and industry backgrounds.”
