Albany

IBM, one of the state's largest high-tech employers, is expected to lay off hundreds of workers in the Hudson Valley by the end of the month, union officials said.

It's unlikely that any of the hundreds of IBM scientists and engineers that work at the SUNY College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering in Albany will be included in the layoffs.

IBM told analysts in January that it was planning a worldwide reorganization of its workforce that would cost $1 billion about the same magnitude as a reorganization last year that led to 3,300 U.S. workers being laid off, including 700 in Poughkeepsie and in East Fishkill, home to an IBM computer chip factory.

A main reason for the layoffs is the poor performance of IBM's Systems and Technology Group. IBM recently announced the sale of one of its low-end server units to China-based Lenovo as a way to stem the losses.

Alliance@IBM, an affiliate of the Communications Workers of America, said the latest round of layoffs are expected to be announced on Feb. 26 for employees in New York and Vermont, home to thousands of workers in the Systems and Technology Group unit. IBM, which does not speak about layoffs typically, did not return a call seeking comment.

Jobs at the NanoCollege are protected, according to a source close to IBM.

"There will not be any layoffs in Albany," the source said.

Many employees support IBM's most innovative computer chip program research that the company does in partnership with the state, such as the Global 450 Consortium, a five-year, $4.8 billion program to develop the next generation of computer chip factories.

The state has committed hundreds of millions of dollars to the effort and other programs with IBM at the NanoCollege, which typically have job creation and retention requirements that IBM must meet.

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Source: Nano jobs in Albany protected from IBM layoff plans