Author Topic: Age Discrimination at IBM  (Read 512 times)

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Offline Michael Hardner

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Age Discrimination at IBM
« on: March 23, 2018, 07:12:06 am »
https://features.propublica.org/ibm/ibm-age-discrimination-american-workers/

This is a very long piece but I leave it for your comments.  I will likely read it piecemeal over the next while.  As a middle-aged manager of many millennials I am a little nervous to read it.

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Offline wilber

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Re: Age Discrimination at IBM
« Reply #1 on: March 23, 2018, 10:28:21 am »
https://features.propublica.org/ibm/ibm-age-discrimination-american-workers/

This is a very long piece but I leave it for your comments.  I will likely read it piecemeal over the next while.  As a middle-aged manager of many millennials I am a little nervous to read it.

Depressing. Wonder how old were the people doing the firing and what this reputation will for their recruitment.
"Never trust a man without a single redeeming vice" WSC

Offline Michael Hardner

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Re: Age Discrimination at IBM
« Reply #2 on: March 23, 2018, 10:33:49 am »
My experience tells me that poorly managed companies are more ageist than well-managed ones.

The best managed company I ever worked for had uneducated 20 year olds working alongside 50-somethings with advanced degrees.  People who are capable tend to ignore things like age, race and sex in my experience.  They focus on ability.

Diversity is a result of maintaining a culture of excellence and recruiting from a diverse pool. 

Offline Goddess

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Re: Age Discrimination at IBM
« Reply #3 on: March 23, 2018, 11:11:08 am »

Diversity is a result of maintaining a culture of excellence and recruiting from a diverse pool.

I like that definition better than Trudeau's.
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Offline TimG

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Re: Age Discrimination at IBM
« Reply #4 on: March 23, 2018, 11:24:41 am »
Every large company I have worked with has frozen hiring in high cost countries and only allow new people to be added in locations in cheaper locals.

When an onshore product team loses enough people due to retirement and/or job switching the entire product line is shipped overseas.

Nothing can be done to stop this. It is happening in Europe with robust worker protection laws and in Canada and the US.

The only thing that will stop this shift is a change in the cost structure. i.e. the cost of living has to come down in high cost countries but that will take decades with all of the vested interests.
« Last Edit: March 23, 2018, 11:35:11 am by TimG »

Offline Michael Hardner

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Re: Age Discrimination at IBM
« Reply #5 on: March 23, 2018, 11:32:36 am »
Gartner declared IT offshoring dead in 2013.  That really means it had reached it's limit.

The adjustments you mentioned are overstated but some are happening.

Offline TimG

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Re: Age Discrimination at IBM
« Reply #6 on: March 23, 2018, 11:36:20 am »
Gartner declared IT offshoring dead in 2013.  That really means it had reached it's limit.
Nope. It restarted after a lull.

Offline Michael Hardner

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Re: Age Discrimination at IBM
« Reply #7 on: March 23, 2018, 11:51:48 am »
Really.  I wonder why.

Offline TimG

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Re: Age Discrimination at IBM
« Reply #8 on: March 23, 2018, 12:00:48 pm »
Really.  I wonder why.
Cost and the skills of offshore teams have increased (in some cases they are better than the US based team they replaced). Also, the lack of skilled people in the right locations pushes companies offshore.

Offline BC_cheque

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Re: Age Discrimination at IBM
« Reply #9 on: March 23, 2018, 12:15:51 pm »
I have a friend working at Amazon making 200K/year and he seems to be oblivious to the fact that in the tech sector, everyone is a shooting star.  As bad as this is to say, it's like modelling, people will make a lot of cash but they should invest wisely because the tap turns off quickly. 

Very few professions still compensate seniority.  Teaching and accounting are the only two I can think of off the top of my head but even there, the expiry date may not be 40 but it does get to a point of diminishing returns around 60.

On top of it, I read an article recently: "100 is the 80, Are You Financially Prepared For Retirement?" 

All the way around depressing.
« Last Edit: March 23, 2018, 12:18:09 pm by BC_cheque »

Offline SirJohn

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Re: Age Discrimination at IBM
« Reply #10 on: March 23, 2018, 12:46:18 pm »
Didn't I recently post the story from someone's column about a longtime Liberal who applied for a job as a staffer with the party and was turned down because he was too old? He met with a Liberal MP who he described as 'brilliant' who frankly admitted he himself would never be hired because he was over forty.
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Offline wilber

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Re: Age Discrimination at IBM
« Reply #11 on: March 23, 2018, 01:00:01 pm »
Could Logan’s Run become a reality?
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Offline SirJohn

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Re: Age Discrimination at IBM
« Reply #12 on: March 23, 2018, 01:01:37 pm »
Could Logan’s Run become a reality?

I'm sure Trudeau will fling himself into a beam of laser light as soon as he's not cute any more.
"When liberals insist that only fascists will defend borders then voters will hire fascists to do the job liberals won't do." David Frum

Offline Michael Hardner

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Re: Age Discrimination at IBM
« Reply #13 on: March 23, 2018, 02:30:57 pm »
Cost and the skills of offshore teams have increased (in some cases they are better than the US based team they replaced). Also, the lack of skilled people in the right locations pushes companies offshore.

Yes ... that explains offshoring but not why it would start again after a lull.  They are hiring everywhere in IT now, mainframe people onshore too, which is what I was.

Offline TimG

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Re: Age Discrimination at IBM
« Reply #14 on: March 23, 2018, 02:48:24 pm »
Yes ... that explains offshoring but not why it would start again after a lull.  They are hiring everywhere in IT now, mainframe people onshore too, which is what I was.
2008 caused companies to retrench and  avoid risks like offshoring. The economy recovers and companies start offshoring again. The difference is this time they are much more selective about what goes overseas. IT providing support to local teams stays. Maintaining product s/w and testing goes offshore.