IBM has been accused of attempting to force out older workers in order to shift the age profile of its workforce.
The tech giant is now facing a series of age discrimination claims from workers who claim that executives were plotting to oust older workers in order to make room for younger employees.
According to newly released documents from a lawsuit against IBM, the tech firm referred to older workers as “dinobabies” and with one senior employee – who has not been identified – allegedly stating that the firm wanted to “accelerate change by inviting the dinobabies (new species) to leave” and make them an “extinct species”.
According to press reports in the US, more than 1,000 laid-off workers nationally claimed IBM adopted discriminatory practices to build a younger workforce. All of the employees were in their 40s, 50s, and 60s when they lost their jobs.
IBM has been fighting the charges for over two years, saying they have no merit.
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Lawsuit papers released by a Federal District Court last week argued that IBM sought to eliminate older workers by requiring them to move to a different part of the country to keep their jobs, assuming that most would decline to move. One internal email stated that the “typical relo accept rate is 8-10%”.
IBM has strongly refuted the claims. An email from IBM CHRO Nickle LaMoreaux to all employees said there was no systemic age discrimination at the company.
“I’ll start with the most important thing you need to know: discrimination of any kind is entirely against our culture and who we are at IBM,” said La Moreaux.
The email claimed that between 2010 and 2020, 37% of all US hires at IBM were over the age of 40, and it hired more than 10,000 people over the age of 50 and 1,500 over the age of 60.
In 2020 the median age of IBM’s US workforce was 48, six years older than the median age of all US workers.
“IBM’s workforce strategy has always been shaped by one core principle: having the right skills at the right levels in the right jobs to support our clients. It has never been driven by the age of any individual or group of employees,” the email continued.
“Discrimination or disrespect based on age – or any other form of discrimination – has absolutely no place at IBM.”
Josh Bersin, HR analyst and CEO of the Josh Bersin Company, suggested that tech companies often orientated their employment offer towards younger people as there is “always a steady stream of engineers coming out of higher education familiar with the new ‘stuff’”.
Older workers may not progress with new ideas as quickly as younger people because they’ve witnessed them before – so they may be more balanced in their approach.” – Josh Bersin, HR analyst
“That said, I think age discrimination has declined since the early days of the internet because many of the Millennials who started this theme are now older themselves. Ironically enough, they’re now starting to look anxiously over their shoulders at Gen-Y/Gen-Z who have even newer, more modern skills,” said Bersin.
He reminded organisations of the value that older workers can bring the tech sector.
“Older workers may not progress with new ideas as quickly as younger people because they’ve witnessed them before – so they may be more balanced in their approach,” he said.
“Also, most new technologies are built on existing or older ones, so often older technologists can pick up the nuance of new technologies faster than young people.”
Bersin said it was important for firms to “push a culture of growth” for people at all levels.
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“Leaders should create a culture of inclusion that respects every individual’s ability to learn, grow, and adapt,” he said. “Companies who understand this train, engage, and develop their older workers in powerful ways, building a more inclusive company and inclusive experience for customers. Which also translates, of course, to a more successful operation in the round.”
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