IBM closes China R&D operations

After 25 years of operation IBM is to close its R&D units in China.

The units, called the China Development Lab (CDL) and China Systems Lab (CSL), were set up in 1999.

Closing them will involve the loss of 1,000 jobs.

IBM’s sales in China fell 19.3% last year. The China government has been implementing a policy called ‘Delete America’ or ‘Delete A’ set out in ‘Document 79’.

Document 79 instructs Chinese companies to replace foreign software with local alternatives by 2027.

It is a policy which has hurt US tech companies including Dell, Cisco and HP as well as IBM as their products get dumped in favour of domestic Chinese products.

IBM says it will relocate its R&D activities to another country