Comment IBM – a company understood to employ at least one-third of its global workforce in India and Bangladesh – is pledging to spend $150 billion over the next half decade on making America great again.
That’s right folks, the tech giant also known as Big Blue – a phrase that might also encapsulate the feelings of, say, a laid off American IBM employee – has clambered onto US President Donald Trump’s bandwagon, following years of hard work by executives to move jobs to lower cost locations.
Apple promises to spend $500B, hire 20K over 4 years to swerve Trump import tariffs
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“Technology doesn’t just build the future — it defines it,” said Arvind Krishna, IBM chairman, president and chief executive officer in a statement.
In its announcement, IBM said it intends to spend $30 billion on R&D over the next five years – an average of $6 billion a year – as part of “plans to invest $150 billion in America over the next five years to fuel the economy and to accelerate its role as the global leader in computing.”
By way of comparison, the tech giant spent and $7.48 billion on R&D last year, and $6.78 billion the year prior, according to the IT giant’s 2024 annual report [PDF].
Krishna added: “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 epicenter of the world’s most advanced computing and AI capabilities.”
Focused perhaps, but maybe not in the way Americans wanted IBM to be.
Speaking of India… It’s whispered Apple hopes to make most of its US-sold iPhones in India, rather than China, by the end of 2026 to avoid whatever the tariff situation is by then.
Back in 2017, The Register revealed that 122,000 of IBM’s labor base was employed in the corporation’s operations in India and Bangladesh. This was revealed via an internal leak of a memo from TJ Shembekar, IBM CIO director for Global HR.
Across the West, IBM has repeatedly reduced employee numbers in the intervening years, and most recently, last month pushed through more layoffs in the US, with many of the roles heading to India. We previously coined the term Indian Business Machines, such were the vast numbers of staff based in IBM’s subsidiaries in the country.
The average pay of an IBM employee was $48,582; this compared to $73,283 for Dell and $66,886 [PDF] for HPE. Krishna himself was awarded a total compensation package north of $25 million.
IBM is on the hunt to make $3.5 billion in productivity savings in 2025, the same as it made last year. Carving into its wage bill is seen as a good way to contribute to this. It has certainly helped bolster the bottom line.
Now IBM wants to be seen to be doing its bit to keep the man in the Oval Office happy. As one of the top 20 consultancies in the US that are being scrutinized by DOGE, a bit of positive PR might not hurt.
As IBM said today, it is responsible for innovations that “include the data processing systems that enabled the US social security system, the Apollo Program that put a man on the moon, and power businesses in every industry.”
It also classified itself as “one of the nation’s largest technology employers.”
However the corporation refused to answer our questions in 2017, saying “We don’t break out employee numbers by country.” We have asked again and will update this story if we get a response. ®