Three workers who gave IBM a combined 95 years allege the tech giant fired them to make room for younger hires.
The complaint, filed September 20, 2026, in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges IBM terminated the three employees - aged 57, 58, and 59 - under the pretext of a company restructure while simultaneously planning to backfill their roles with younger workers.
Two were Client Success Managers who worked directly with large IBM customers deploying enterprise software. The third managed compliance, data security, and audit programs. Between them, they had 27, 32, and 36 years of service. None had ever received a performance improvement plan, a disciplinary warning, or a negative review. All three had been promoted multiple times, with bonuses and equity awards along the way.
Then, in September 2024, IBM told each of them their position was being eliminated.
Those explanations were false, the complaint alleges. The work all three had performed continued after they left - because it had to. The roles were critical. Two of the workers say their responsibilities were handed to younger employees. And in both of their teams, the complaint alleges, the three oldest members were also terminated - all with more than 25 years at IBM.
What makes this filing unusual is what the complaint describes as a "smoking-gun" Slack message. According to the filing, an IBM vice president accidentally copied one of the workers on internal communications that...
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