IBM: The Closure of the China R&D Department is Final and Irreversible

IBM CEO Arvind Krishna responded to the reasons for closing the China R&D department during an internal online meeting with IBM global employees, stating that the closure of the China R&D department is now a completed action and is irreversible.

Arvind Krishna said: ‘I really wish we could focus, we need strategic hubs, and these hubs are places that can accommodate teams of thousands.’

He specifically pointed out that IBM’s current global strategic hubs include Austin and San Jose in the United States, Toronto in Canada, Krakow in Poland, Dublin in Ireland, and Bangalore and Kochi in India. China is not included in these regions.

Jack Hergenrother, Vice President of Global Enterprise Systems Development at IBM, stated that IBM has decided to relocate its infrastructure R&D to other regions due to the intense competition in the Chinese local market and the ongoing decline of its infrastructure business in China. ‘We are exiting all development tasks in China.’

Additionally, IBM headquarters personnel indicated that R&D and business are two separate departments, and the relocation of R&D will not affect the ongoing business operations, which can still provide technical support.

SEE ALSO: IBM Closes Its R＆D Department in China, Affecting Over A Thousand People