Massive Strike at China's IBM Factory over Lenovo Server Deal

ZD Net reported that more than 1,000 workers at the server-making IBM ISTC factory in Shenzhen, Guangdong, staged strikes and protested against the company's lump sum severance package. 

According to a Shenzhen TV channel's report, IBM ISTC, one of the strategic manufacturing bases of IBM global integrated supply chain, laid out two choices for the workers: either "willingly" leave IBM before March 12 with compensation plus an extra 6,000 yuan, or stay and "automatically" become Lenovo employees. 

In the latter scenario, the workers get to keep the same amount of compensation but without the 6,000 yuan. Neither plan is in accordance with the labor laws in China, according to the report.

Workers were chanting and marching within the factory compound and are accusing IBM for unilaterally terminating working contracts without proper compensation.

On January 23, 2014, Lenovo announced that it had purchased IBM's X86 server business for US$2.3 billion. The deal, said Lenovo's CEO Yang Yuanqing in another report by NetEase, brings Lenovo an extra US$5 billion in revenue, and expand its X86 server market share from the 6th to the 3rd in the world.

Source : Tempo