IBM’s chairman said the firm’s U.S. sales are slow.

In a meeting with security analysts in San Jose, John F. Akers said that strong European sales meant that the computer maker’s worldwide revenue is “modestly up.” Akers said that the company was continuing to cut costs and that, through attrition, its U.S. employment would be lower at the end of the year than it was Jan. 1--the first time that has happened since 1975. Akers’ speech reiterated the cautious outlook that IBM has put forth since the final quarter of 1985.