US - IBM will lay off some 5,000 US workers in a new round of job cuts and transfer some of the work to India instead.

This latest retrenchment plan reflects the computer technology multinational's determination to remain profitable in the current recession. According to the Associated Press, IBM is showing its "aggressiveness in shifting labour to lower-cost regions like India and keeping its profits aloft at a time when other technology companies' earnings are tumbling".

An IBM manager privy to the plans said the cuts will come from the services division and workers will be informed today. The job cuts will affect around 4% of IBM's US workforce, which totalled around 115,000 at the end of 2008. Only as recent as January, IBM had already cut thousands of US jobs in sales, software and hardware. However, exact retrenchment figures were not disclosed.

IBM now joins other tech firms that are conducting major layoffs. Hewlett-Packard is cutting 24,600 positions, 8% of its 320,000-employee work force, in a three-year restructuring plan. Last Monday also marks the last day of Microsoft employees who were notified in its January's announcement of 5,000 job cuts.