IBM is shutting down its China research and development department, the latest retreat from the country by top U.S. technology companies. The company is moving its China R&D functions to other overseas facilities, Jack Hergenrother, an IBM executive, told employees at a virtual meeting on Monday morning, according to employees who attended. Hergenrother said IBM faced intensifying competition in China with its infrastructure business declining in the past few years, the employees said. Hergenrother said IBM plans to concentrate its R&D in several regions, the employees said. IBM has told some employees it is adding engineers and researchers in places outside China including in Bengaluru, India, according to employees who were briefed. The closure will affect more than 1,000 people, most of them working for the company’s R&D labs and focusing on the development and testing of products such as enterprise software, the employees said. They are based in several Chinese cities, including Beijing and Shanghai. In a statement, IBM said it “adapts its operations as needed to best serve our clients,” without giving details. The changes won’t affect IBM’s ability to support clients in China, it said. Geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China have led many multinational companies to reassess their business in China, with some laying off employees and relocating operations to other countries.
Full report : IBM Shuts China R&D Operations in Latest Retreat by U.S. Companies.
