It’s a harsh environment out there in the contracting world, and there is none as harsh as the IT industry, as proven by a recent IBM memo.
What the computer giant is basically saying to all their contractors is this…”take a pay cut or go elsewhere”
This comes at a time when IBM have decided to shift their model to a dedicated employee workforce, after using contractors almost exclusively for the vast majority of their projects for many years now.
Not only that, but some insider sources are claiming that IBM have banned the hiring of any new contractors, which means it is no longer in the market for a skilled and flexible workforce.
Those who are already contractor workers at IBM, well, they have been told that a pay cut is what will happen, and if they don’t like it then they can go elsewhere. It is thought the pay cut is somewhere in the region of 10%.
Do you know what though…in my opinion IBM are well in their rights to do this, because at the end of the day that is one of the benefits of hiring a contractor, the flexibility in that you can get rid of them at any time once your plans change.
No problem at all if you ask me, because it does work both ways. I’m sure that many contractors have just downed tools at IBM and gone to companies such as Microsoft or Google without even so much as a goodbye letter. Well, IBM can do the same thing.
That is not to say I think IBM are doing the right thing, because from what I’m hearing contractors around the world are not impressed with what is happening and that could lead to many workers giving them a miss in the future should IBM ever be in the market for temporary workers once again.
What seems to have happened is that contractors are not so much disappointed with the fact that IBM have told them to take a pay cut or clear off…I reckon it was the way in which it has been done, to the point where many workers appear to be a bit confused about the whole situation, with IBM being accused of not explaining fully what is happening.
I don’t think many of these IT contractors who have been working for IBM will have anything to be concerned about, because if there is one thing that is always in demand it’s IT skills.
Many companies around the world are willing to pay top money for skilled IT contractors, which leads me to think that almost all of these people should be able to get many jobs lined up once they have cleared their desk at IBM.
