IBM Cuts More Jobs

IBM Corp. said it cut more than 100 workers, most of them in sales and marketing, in its IBM Software Group division at sites around the U.S. It is the third round of job reductions in six weeks. Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM said last month that it would fire as many as 1,000 people in its money-losing personal computer unit, and earlier this month it said it would cut 3% to 6% of employees in the computer server division. The cuts in the three businesses could total about 1,600 workers; IBM employed 295,000 people at the end of its first quarter. IBM has said it’s hiring about 18,000 people in 1999, mainly for its business that installs and maintains companies’ computer networks. IBM said earnings may fall in the fourth and first quarters as customers put off purchases to address the year 2000 problem. IBM shares rose $3.94 to close at $107.88 on the New York Stock Exchange.