With the situation in all the sectors worsening the New Year is proving to be no good for neither companies nor employees.

This month Big Blue IBM may go for a massive layoff. An independent Web IBM employee.com site for IBM employees has been buzzing with rumors that the company will make significant layoffs.

If the rumored 16,000 figure proves accurate, then, it would equal roughly a 4% reduction in headcount. IBM has more than 386,000 employees worldwide, according to its Web site.

Company spokesman Fred McNeese said Monday that IBM does not comment on rumors and speculation.

One Alliance@IBM representative says We do not have anything substantial yet. But when we start getting a lot of these kinds of rumors from specific sources, generally they come through, said national coordinator Lee Conrad, a former IBM employee. We're real concerned about that and the possibility it could be true.

Most past job reductions by IBM have hit the U.S. harder than other regions, Conrad added.

The reason quoted by the company is due to the worsening economic situation, bad financial results and cost cutting.

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