IBM CEO Arvind Krishna through an email informed employees that the company is ending all operations in Russia. The move comes several months after the tech company froze activities in Russia. Additionally, the CEO revealed that IBM has begun laying off employees in Russia.
In the letter that Krishna shared with the employees, he stated that the company’s focus in the next few months will be looking after the safety and security of all employees and their families in impacted regions. Notably, IMB suspended operations back in March this year but kept employees on the payroll.
“We chose to suspend operations so that we could evaluate longer-term options while continuing to pay and provide for our employees in Russia,” the IBM CEO noted in the letter.
“As the consequences of the war continue to mount and uncertainty about its long-term ramifications grows, we have now made the decision to carry out an orderly wind-down of IBM’s business in Russia,” Krishna added in the letter.
The CEO also said that “This process will commence today and result in the separation of our local workforce. Our colleagues in Russia have, through no fault of their own, endured months of stress and uncertainty.”
“We recognise that this news is difficult, and I want to assure them that IBM will continue to stand by them and take all reasonable steps to provide support and make their transition as orderly as possible,” he further added.