IBM to shut down China R&D operations, lays off 1,000 employees

IBM in China: IBM will completely shut its China R&D operation, affecting more than 1,000 jobs, the US technology company said on Monday.

A spokesperson for IBM, currently the world's biggest technology services company, confirmed earlier media reports in a statement to Reuters, saying "these changes will not impact our ability to support clients across the Greater China region."

The cuts come amid the company's struggles with falling demand for its hardware and challenges in growth markets like China.

According to media reports, the company is likely to shift its research and development to other overseas facilities. The company's revenue in China also suffered a 20 per cent decline, according to the report published in 2023. 

Not only IBM has withdrawn its China operations but companies like Ericsson, Tesla, Amazon.com and Intel have also limited their reliance on China after the trade tensions between the United States and China escalated. 

In May, Microsoft has asked its Chinese employees to consider relocating out of China as the company wished to move out its cloud-computing and AI research from China

(The story was updated with extra information)