IBM has announced plans to invest $150 billion over five years to expand its presence in the U.S., including more than $30 billion in research and development of mainframes and quantum computers. The company said its goal is to fuel the country’s economy and “accelerate its role as a global leader in computing,” Bloomberg reported. At the same time, the company has steadily shifted development overseas in recent years.
IBM currently operates a mainframe manufacturing facility in Poughkeepsie, New York. It also operates a fleet of quantum computers and is aggressively expanding its presence in the software market. The company said its investment plans underscore its commitment to innovation and economic opportunity in the United States.
Following Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election and his increase in import duties on electronics and components, American tech giants including Apple and NVIDIA have begun to increase investment in domestic production. They have been joined by foreign manufacturers such as TSMC. Where IBM will get the $150 billion is not specified. In the last quarter, its revenue was $14.54 billion, and net profit was $1.06 billion.
«“We have been focused on American jobs and manufacturing since our founding 114 years ago, and with this investment and manufacturing commitment, we are ensuring that IBM remains the center of the world’s most advanced computing and AI capabilities,” IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said in a statement.
IBM also said it was responsible for innovations “including the data systems that powered Social Security, the Apollo program that put a man on the moon, and the solutions that drive business across every industry.” It also described itself as “one of the nation’s largest technology employers.”
As The Register noted, IBM’s claims are in stark contrast to the reality of the situation, as the company has been aggressively moving jobs to lower-cost countries for years, with at least a third of its global workforce now in India and Bangladesh. As of 2017, there were already about 122,000 employees there, according to a leaked internal memo from TJ Shembekar, IBM’s chief global HR officer.
According to The Register, IBM has repeatedly cut staff in the US since then. In March, it carried out another round of layoffs in the US, opening vacancies for similar positions in India. Thanks to this policy, the average salary at IBM is much lower than at other large companies. According to The Register, the average salary of an IBM employee for 2024 was $48,582, while at Dell it was $73,283, and at HPE it was $66,886. IBM CEO Arvind Krishna himself received a full compensation package of over $25 million.