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Elizabeth Baier
ST. PAUL, Minn.

Union: Employee cuts to hit IBM Rochester

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Union officials say cuts to the IBM workforce made this week are affecting employees at the Rochester facility.

IBM has terminated employees in the systems technology and software groups, as well as global business services and global technology services, said Lee Conrad, national coordinator for the labor union, Alliance@IBM. IBM will not disclose the number of jobs involved.

"It makes us feel terrible. I mean, we're seeing a lot of IBM employees lose their livelihood today," Conrad said. "We're seeing a great company decimate its workforce, so it's never a good day."

IBM announced in March it was moving three of its Minnesota product manufacturing operations to Mexico and New York state.

The most recent official count of IBM employees in Rochester is from 2008, when the company reported 4,000 workers.

Conrad estimates since then, that number has dropped to about 2,500 employees. Alliance@IBM has also received reports of cuts in the global business services and global technology services, he said.

"People are really upset because it's reaching into areas that hadn't been hit before and frankly, we're unsure how big it's going to be until the next couple days," Conrad said.