Making 'Dinobabies' Extinct: IBM's Push for a Younger Work Force

Source: New York Times

Making ‘Dinobabies’ Extinct: IBM’s Push for a Younger Work Force

Documents released in an age-discrimination case appear to show high-level discussion about paring the ranks of older employees.

By Noam Scheiber
Feb. 12, 2022
Updated 6:10 p.m. ET

In recent years, former IBM employees have accused the company of age discrimination in a variety of legal filings and press accounts, arguing that IBM sought to replace thousands of older workers with younger ones to keep pace with corporate rivals.

Now it appears that top IBM executives were directly involved in discussions about the need to reduce the portion of older employees at the company, sometimes disparaging them with terms of art like “dinobabies.”

A trove of previously sealed documents made public by a Federal District Court on Friday show executives discussing plans to phase out older employees and bemoaning the company’s relatively low percentage of millennials.

The documents, which emerged from a lawsuit contending that IBM engaged in a yearslong effort to shift the age composition of its work force, appear to provide the first public piece of direct evidence about the role of the company’s leadership in the effort.

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Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/12/business/economy/ibm-age-discrimination.html?unlocked_article_code=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEIPuomT1JKd6J17Vw1cRCfTTMQmqxCdw_PIxftm3iWka3DPDm8YiO4IGImG9lzWIqdoYN002iXcRdVEdbYgSbl-z_RUJU1oSg-hvpqDntIFPyAx48qVb18B4qjsD_o-4CO4KS6wMvt-z7my-EncbGLsCKDbzSIhIlp6pZIxJUWh2ycK2vqTE7Yh2NEo1f8gD4toBmtVPFn8tPfjCR11ONmMf0ucvlFwA7cFLGmVyd2M6LsAcxFQCkbFTx5_42U77tBbPrAHLfq1bk5gKIel3-JnWiE_J5ypBpYxW4HVi71s1LXMohCJw8azrO4kGE1z4gCglbVWSnguiYQRmQ&smid=url-share

Original NYT link: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/12/business/economy/ibm-age-discrimination.html