Times began to change, the American IT giant could no longer keep up. Budget cuts, layoffs… A model is collapsing. Its Moroccan subsidiary pays the price.
Its customers, including banks, insurance companies and nearly 300 SMEs-SMIs, are worried.
As La Vie économique had specified and by the admission of the international managers of the world leader in IT, it was a strategic decision taken five years ago that motivated IBM’s withdrawal from Morocco. The firm, which at that time had more than 410,000 employees around the world, had decided to “slim down”, which effectively resulted in layoffs or spin-offs (in Africa in particular). Thus, between 1990 and 1992, 100,000 people left the group and, in 1993, the departure of at least 30,000 employees is expected. IBM posts “dry” losses of 5 billion dollars in 1992, and the famous American television channel CNN does not hesitate to describe the present situation as “IBM’s agony”.
Brain drain
It is in this general context of crisis and withdrawal that we must place IBM France’s desire to separate from its structure in Morocco through a subsidiary and entry into the capital of this new company under Moroccan law, a powerful and motivated partner (ONA).
The Moroccan employees refused this liquidation plan, on the irrefutable reason that the company was successful, profitable, held more than 50% of the national market. The employees’ proposal, that of a partnership, like the Ivorian or Senegalese cases, was refused and, after a highly publicized strike, fifty-nine employees had to choose between integration into ELBM or departure. with compensation.
Everyone knows that the ONA was in the ranks before the strike broke out. The conflict, without completely frightening the buyers, has undoubtedly motivated an attitude of expectation which could evolve quickly, now that the social file is closed. The precariousness of employment and the leonine clauses of the transfer to ELBM therefore led twenty-two employees to refuse the new structure. It should be noted, first of all, that all the senior executives and other directors preferred to leave, with the exception of the administrative director and general manager. Five out of six directors dropped out of ELBM.
All the engineers left, with the exception of those with less than five years of seniority (six people). The marketing and maintenance managers have also left the company, as well as the technical sales representatives.
So what remains of IBM to ELBM?
A managing director who should leave Morocco next June, an administrative director, six young engineers and maintenance technicians. But, where is the brain?
Some are also wondering whether ELBM, under the present conditions, will be able to take up the torch from IBM, knowing for example that among the starters are engineers who alone had the skills for certain computer installations ” extremely important” or very sensitive. Who now, unless bringing in expatriates on assignment or full-time, will take care of COMANAV, OCP, RAM, ONPT, large insurance companies and other offices, more than 300 SME-SMI?
What competence will be responsible for the maintenance of the “MVS” system which equips the BCP or the DGSN…? Won’t IBM’s important and traditional customers suffer from these departures?
The question is in any case posed, just like that of these IBM employees who refuse what they consider to be unfair dismissal, are preparing to go to court to claim compensation for the damage suffered. It therefore seems that the “transformation” of IBM into ELBM will not have been without damage… And neither Mr. Calmels (the negotiator of the transactional “arrangement”) retired, nor Mr. Beurdelay, who left the management of the Africa department of IBM France, will not invalidate this observation!