IBM dumps New York State for China

BIG BLUE said it's shifting its global procurement office from Somers in New York state, to Shenzhen.

This, it is said, is the first time the HQ of an IBM corporate wide unit has moved outside the US. It hailed this as the invention of a new model to a "globally integrated enterprise".

It has shifted John Paterson, head of the division, to Shenzhen too. He said IBM has collaborative relationships with 3,000 suppliers in Asia, 30 per cent of the $40 billion it spends on procurement.

IBM did not say how many of Paterson's staff were making the long trek east. In the old days, IBM used to stand for I've Been Moved. And he has. µ