Restructuring events
European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
IBM, an American multinational technology company, has announced that it will cut up to 10% of its workforce in Europe.
While precise figures for all countries are not yet available, the restructuring may affect about 4,000 jobs as IBM employs about over 40,000 people across Europe. The restructuring case is currently being consulted within the European Works Council (EWC), but the company expects the layoffs to be implemented during the first quarter of 2026. So far, the company has informed that the cuts will include approximately 300 positions in France: IBM 2026 - FR and at least 57 in Belgium. In France, the reductions are expected to involve early retirements and voluntary departures, while in Belgium, the company has initiated the ‘Renault procedure’ for collective redundancies. Trade unions have reacted strongly, arguing that the layoffs are unnecessary given IBM's solid financial results.
The plan aims to boost productivity within the hybrid cloud and AI sectors, targeting roles in Technology, Consulting, and Support Functions. The European Works Council (EWC) has expressed significant concern, noting that the reduction target is roughly double the size of 2025 and warns that repeated restructuring is eroding local footprints and damaging employee morale.
Since 2022, IBM has reduced its global workforce from 288,200 to approximately 265,000 as of the fourth quarter of 2025.
A previous global restrucritung event of IBM has been recorded in the ERM database: IBM 2023-WO (3,900 job cuts).
Eurofound (2026), IBM, Internal restructuring in European Union, factsheet number 204165, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/204165.
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