Skip to main content

IBM breaks law by allegedly firing older workers for young ones, report says

An investigation into IBM’s hiring and firing practices revealed that the company reportedly violated discrimination laws by targeting older workers. The revelation stems from ProPublica, which reviewed internal company documents, public records, and legal filings while also gathering information from more than 1,000 former IBM employees through questionnaires and one-on-one interviews. 

ProPublica estimates that in the past five years alone, IBM has eliminated more than 20,000 American employees ages 40 and over, about 60 percent of its estimated total U.S. job cuts during those years,” ProPublica reports. 

IBM’s goal, it seems, is to flush out its older workforce and fill the void with fresher faces to reflect its younger “fiercest competitors.” According to the findings, IBM supposedly laid off older workers due to “out of date” skillsets, only to re-hire them as contractors to perform the same duties at a lower pay and no benefits.  

Even more, older employees targeted for layoffs were encouraged to apply for other positions and train their replacements although managers from the other departments were advised not to even hire them. IBM also allegedly “took steps” to boost resignations and firings so they’re not counted as layoffs and fall under the required public disclosure.  

“[IBM] denied older workers information the law says they need in order to decide whether they’ve been victims of age bias and required them to sign away the right to go to court or join with others to seek redress,” the report states. 

One former IBM employee who came forward for ProPublica’s report is New York-based digital marketing strategist Marjorie Madfis. She worked at IBM for 17 years and found herself without a job for no apparent reason. She was 57 at the time of her layoff and joined by six other members of her nine-member team, all women in their 40s and 50s. The remaining two unaffected by the layoffs were younger men.

Another former IBM worker, Brian Paulson, served the company for 18 years. His performance as a senior manager was reportedly exemplary, but he was laid off due to “performance” issues without any real explanation. He also didn’t have any job-related connection to the executive who called and gave him the termination notice. 

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act came online in 1967 to protect workers over 40 years of age against discrimination related to “hiring, promotion, discharge, compensation, or terms, conditions or privileges of employment.” 

But that hasn’t stopped corporations from age discrimination practices, especially over the last 20 years due to global competition and investor greed. Courts have reportedly weakened the law at the pleas of corporations to the point where age discrimination is a secret but common practice. 

“Everybody knows it’s happening, but often these cases are difficult to prove [because courts have weakened the law],” says Victoria Lipnic of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. 

An IBM representative said the company complies with federal laws and is “the only tech company that has not only survived but thrived for more than 100 years.” 

Kevin Parrish
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kevin started taking PCs apart in the 90s when Quake was on the way and his PC lacked the required components. Since then…
Best OLED monitor deals: Get an OLED screen from just $450
Marvel's Spider-Man running on the Samsung Odyssey OLED G8.

Shopping some of the best monitor deals is a good way to save on some extra screen real estate, but if you’re looking for something that can produce a stunning image you should turn your shopping cart toward the OLED monitors. OLED is one of the best picture technologies currently available, and it can create a lifelike image that makes interacting with games, presentations, and creative work much more immersive. The best OLED monitors can run pretty expensive, but that’s what OLED monitor deals are for. If you’re looking for superior picture quality and some ways to save, read onward for more details on the best OLED monitor deals taking place right now.
ViewSonic 15.6-inch VX1655 4K OLED portable monitor — $450, was $500

Getting into the OLED game can be both affordable and portable with the ViewSonic VX1655. It’s a 4K OLED display that’s made to function as either a laptop extension or something to pair with a tablet. It comes in at a super sharp 4K resolution and a refresh rate of 60Hz. This isn’t something you’d want to pair with a gaming PC, but it’s a great little display to keep with you if you do creative work on the run or want some extra screen real estate while working on a tablet at your desk.

Read more
Best monitor deals: Gaming, office, curved, OLED and more
Dell UltraSharp 27 4K PremierColor Monitor

Whether you prefer to work at one of the best desktop computers, the best laptops, or anything in between, an external monitor can be helpful to add some extra screen real estate. One of the best monitors can even go a long way toward reducing eye strain and creating an immersive digital or gaming experience. While high end monitors can get quite expensive, there are always some impressive monitor deals to shop, and we’ve tracked them all down. Reading onward you’ll find what we feel are the best monitor deals, whether you’re shopping for 4K monitors, gaming monitors, ultrawide monitors, or more general monitors meant for all-purpose users.
Best monitor deals

The following deals represent a best-of of the deals below. They're selected to give a mixture of prices, styles, and levels of discount. If you don't see something you like, don't worry, as the following sections will have plenty more deals for you to choose from. However, this is a highly recommended place to start:

Read more
7 best Chromebooks for 2024: the best for every budget
Close up of the Chrome logo on the top of a Chromebook.

Chromebooks might have a hard time competing with Windows laptops and MacBooks, but that doesn't mean they don't have their place. We've reviewed hundreds of laptops over the years, testing for important qualities like performance, battery life, and display quality — and we've found that Chromebooks consistently excel at performance and reliability.

You can find Chromebooks from Google, HP, Lenovo, Acer, and many others, and we've dug through them to put together this roundup of the best Chromebooks on the market. They're incredibly accessible devices, and for the right person, a Chromebook can be the best laptop in terms of value.

Read more