DICE NEWS ROUNDUP:
IBM Layoffs Are Coming, But How Many? What IBM is calling a “rebalancing” is actually a flurry of layoffs, but it remains unclear exactly how many people are being let go and from which North American locations. A union-organizing group affiliated with the Communication Workers of America, is reporting 1,100 cuts, but other reports peg the number at 800. Many cuts may be coming from the Global Technology Services outsourcing group. In addition, 106 workers were laid off in IBM's Systems & Technology Group, which manufactures servers and computer chips. No notice has been filed with the North Carolina Commerce Department, so the layoff count at IBM’s huge Research Triangle facility must be under 500, state officials confirm.
IT Business Edge Salesforce.com Cancels Big San Francisco Office Plan: Salesforce.com Inc's cancellation of plans to build a massive office complex in San Francisco is mysterious. The company said it would no longer go ahead with a project to build a sprawling new headquarters in the Mission Bay neighborhood because of “logistics.” “We are growing now faster than we were growing at the time when we originally made the decision to build the campus,” said Bruce Francis, chief messaging officer for Salesforce.com. “We are going to need space faster than we could build it. That's why we decided to suspend development of the campus.”
Reuters Apple Plans Oregon Data Center: Oregon is turning out to be a hot destination for big data centers. Following Facebook, Apple has bought $5.6 million worth of land in Prineville, Ore., for its own new data center right next door to Facebook’s. Experts suggest that the move will help build out Apple’s new iCloud service. While the facility will certainly boost Prineville’s property tax revenue, chances are that the number of full-time employees will be relatively insignificant.
IT Business Edge Yahoo! Could Pink Slip Thousands: Scott Thompson, Yahoo!’s new CEO, is looking hard at the bottom line, and apparently he doesn’t like what he sees. Sources say he is preparing a
massive restructuring of the company, including layoffs that are likely to number in the thousands. Much of the change—which could be announced as soon as the end of this month—is aimed at Yahoo’s large products organization, as well as other arenas in which the company has lagged. Thompson has hired Boston Consulting Group to help focus the company on “growth” initiatives and to help determine the best path for Yahoo! going forward.
Dice News Professional Hiring Up But Slowing in Q2: Hiring in professional fields will rise the second quarter but at a slower pace than forecast for the first quarter, according to the latest Robert Half Professional Employment report. A net two percent of executives plan to add full-time staff in the second three months of 2012, down from 10 percent last quarter. Nine out of 10 (91 percent) executives expressed confidence about growth at their firms during the quarter, and 61 percent of those surveyed reported recruiting challenges. In the tech industry, eight percent of respondents expect to hire, while five percent expect to decrease staff, for a net three percent increase.
Robert Half Technology Has Apple Really Created Half a Million Jobs? Industry analysts are poring over numbers provided by Apple that suggest it has created or supported 514,000 jobs in the United States. Apple says it currently supports 304,000 U.S. jobs, including 47,000 people employed directly by the company, plus 257,000 who work in fields ranging from component manufacturing to transportation and healthcare. The company has full-time employees in 50 U.S. states and its iOS application economy has created 210,000 jobs.
Dice News Cloud Computing Leads to NYC Hiring: The shift to cloud computing, and the economies of scale it allows, will bring the total of
cloud-related jobs to more than 60,000 in New York this year—a bump of 17 percent over 2011, says a report by research firm IDC (and sponsored by cloud technology provider Microsoft). That makes New York the biggest beneficiary of the cloud trend among major metro areas. Los Angeles came in second, with close to 38,000 cloud-related jobs in 2012, an increase of 18 percent. “There's a myth out there that moving to the cloud is shrinking job opportunities,” said Laura Wallace, general manager of Microsoft's New York metro district. “That wasn't what we were hearing from our customers.”
Dice News
Upcoming Tech Events
SXSW March 9-18—Austin South by Southwest offers an amazing gathering of thought leaders in independent music, independent films and emerging technologies. Fostering creative and professional growth alike, SXSW is the premier destination for discovery. The
Integrated Media Association conference will be held in conjunction with SXSWi, and there will be a
tech career expo on March 9 and 10.
VERGE DC March 14-16—Washington, D.C. VERGE DC brings together corporate leaders focusing on a new wave of technological change revolutionizing sustainability. A convergence of technologies for energy, buildings, information, and vehicles, which GreenBiz calls VERGE, is enabling companies to break down organizational silos and accelerate innovation. This has profound implications for your company's sustainability and business goals.
Signal March 21—San Francisco This conference will feature top executives from the key “dependent” platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google. These services are where audiences discover new content and services with which to engage. But it’s out on the “Independent Web” that people engage with unique, community-driven content. How can marketers capture the value of both sides of the Web?
Ignition West March 21—San Francisco Ignition West intensively explores the future of mobile and is presented by Business Insider. Through high-level discussions with executives and leading entrepreneurs and demos from emerging startups, 2012's Ignition West will bring together people who are evolving and disrupting mobile to discuss what's happening now, what's next, and how it affects your business. Which platforms, products and business models will dominate? Topics include: Mobile platforms and consumer behavior; next-generation devices and services; who owns the Internet after search; the future of publishing, film and television on mobile; investing in mobile and mobile content; the gaming marketplace.
DEMO Spring April 17-19—Santa Clara, CA At DEMO Spring, investors and potential partners can get a close-up look at the latest trend-setting technologies. It's not just a place for face time but for eyes-on-the-product time.
