IBM Confirms Layoffs in N. American Unit

IBM Corp. confirmed that it will lay off several hundred employees at its North American division. A spokesman said employees in the division had been notified of the move Thursday in a memo from General Manager John W. Thompson. Sources said the computer maker expects to cut between 500 and 600 workers from its 20,000-member North American sales and distribution force. The announcement comes after several other IBM groups announced voluntary buyout packages in an attempt to trim payrolls and eliminate staffing imbalances that arose as the company’s business model changed. IBM has said its overall restructuring would not result in any charges and would be paid for out of an annual expense budget of about $800 million allocated to such efforts. IBM’s shares rose $2.38 to close at $101.50 on the New York Stock Exchange.