In an effort to reverse the first downslide in the Big Blue's profits, Chairman Akers instituted a process of reinventing IBM through a massive restructuring and refocusing of the firm's activities. Dubbed "perpetual reorganization" in industry circles, this strategy is based on instilling in managers what Walton
E. Burdick, Vice President of personnel, calls a "hiring-avoidance mentality." Between 1985 and 1988, the work force was trimmed from 405,500 to 389,300 employees. In addition, the firm launched a career opportunity plan, aimed at giving employees the opportunity to change from engineering and administration to sales through a training program known as "backfilling." Some 45,000 employees went through this informal training, which takes a few months. 1
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