Stray Slack message allegedly exposed IBM’s plan to replace older workers

Then there are the publications. The complaint cites IBM materials that allegedly characterised older employees as less trusting, less collaborative, less committed, and less likely to understand the company’s strategy than their younger colleagues. A 2018 ProPublica investigation, referenced in the filing, reported that an IBM consulting publication called older workers “gray hairs” and “old heads.” And in 2022, the New York Times reported that top IBM executives had used the term “dinobabies” when discussing efforts to reduce the share of older staff.

The complaint also points to a multi-year EEOC investigation. According to the filing, the agency found reasonable cause to believe IBM had discriminated against older workers. Statistical analysis covering 2013 to 2018 determined that IBM’s Resource Actions targeted “primarily older workers (85.85%) in the total potential pool of those considered for layoff,” the filing states, citing the EEOC’s…