This post was written by a guest author to TryBPO.com to provide an alternative look to our readers and to offer the best outsourcing news and information in 2010. Jacob Cherian writes for SourcingLine, a leading source news and directories related to outsourcing.

Following a massive layoff of workers in the U.S. in 2009, IBM is planning to cut more jobs – as many 2,000. So far, IBM has not commented on the recent round of cuts.

News about the layoffs sprout from the Alliance@IBM/CWA Local 1701, which collects information from employees directly. The Alliance has alleged that spinning off jobs to outsourcing locations is the major factor behind the job cuts.

One employee, speaking on the condition of anonymity told reporters, “IBM is clearly offshoring things where they can.” This was a UNIX administrator with experience of 10 years at IBM.  He added that at one time he had 15 U.S. workers working with him. However, that count was decreased with new customer support teams emerging in Brazil, India and Argentina.

The employee, who kept his anonymity over severance pay issues said he was not offered appropriate cause for his layoff: “Higher ups made a decision that a certain percentage had to be cut – it was not performance-based at all,” reports Computerworld.

The employee explained that his job situation was not drastic, but in all likelihood, he would end up with a pay cut if he took up a similar position in the job market.

Since October 2009, IBM had 105,000 employees working for them in the U.S. in comparison with 115,000 in the previous year. Going back to 2007, the computer giant has 121,000 employees in the U.S. The firm has 400,000 employees working in global locations.

IBM has not said anything regarding the job actions except that they are necessary for responding to shifting customer requirements.

One of the key factors associated with IBM jobs is that they are higher paying jobs with rivals in the industry. It is also touted as a major employer communities like Burlington Vermont. In fact, IBM is still hiring from colleges like Michigan State University, where an IBM recruitment fair is scheduled for March 8. The company has 60 openings for application and support specialists.

In a Moody’s investors review conducted last year, IBM was found to Burlington’s single biggest employer with approximately 5,400 workers, or five percent of the area’s labor force.

Moody’s wrote in a comment, “IBM recently announced job reductions, with the Burlington area reportedly experiencing between 300 and 500 IBM related job losses.” Adding, “These recent cuts bring the total number of workers that IBM has laid off since 2001 to about 3,000, or 15% of manufacturing employment. Additional workforce reductions at IBM present considerable downside risk”

Jacob Cherian writes for SourcingLine, a leading provider of directories on top game development companies and seo firms.