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Elizabeth Baier
Rochester, Minn.

Jobs cut at IBM's Rochester facility, union says

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Union officials say cuts to the IBM workforce are affecting employees at the Rochester facility.

IBM officials would not comment on the cuts and it's unclear exactly how many of the jobs were in Rochester.

But documents submitted to the Alliance@IBM, a labor union at the company, indicate roughly 200 people have been laid off in facilities in Minnesota, North Carolina, Texas and New York.

Lee Conrad, the national coordinator for the Alliance, said workers have been telling him the cuts are a result of off-shoring.

"Not only are they training their replacements, but sometimes they train them, wait a couple months, and then the work is moved offshore," Conrad said. "That's an ongoing problem inside IBM. And that really contributes to the poor morale."

Conrad said IBM's U.S. employee workforce has declined from roughly 135,000 to 98,000 in the last five years. IBM has nearly 430,000 workers worldwide. The cuts comes as IBM prepares to celebrate its centennial this summer