IBM

The IBM Toronto Lab is a state-of-the-art facility.

Free products/services include:

• Gym inside the complex
• Coffee, tea, milk/cream, and sugar
• Microwaves

Recreation includes:

• Ping pong tables
• Foosball tables

Highlights include:

• Tim Hortons inside the lab
• Cafeteria with lots of choices
• Daycare at walking distance
• A lot of green space
• Good location (downtown Markham)
• Theatre meeting room
• On-site training

• Employer/Employee loyalty no longer exists.
• Expected to work around the clock with no overtime.
• Extremely difficult to get a promotion.
• HR staff is very limited and typically not very helpful. Managers are expected to do HR work without full knowledge in that area.

I strongly recommend upper management, in my most sincerely concerned tone, to stop laying off talented young (early career) employees and long-term veteran members with a track record of performance and loyalty at IBM.

Retraining new grads that don't stay in the company is counter-productive and doesn't add long-term value to IBM.

IBM says it values 'respect for the individual'. Closing down sites and forcing employees who have worked for over a decade remotely and productively does not show respect or the work-life balance that is promoted. Please reconsider the new co-location policy.

Please make sure you think about ways of improving workplace morale. It is noticeably lower compared to only a couple of years ago.