IBM plans to reduce office space by nearly half in India

BENGALURU: IBM is planning to discontinue lease agreements at nearly half of its offices in major cities across the country, people familiar with the development told ET, as the US-based technology leader sees the work-from-home model becoming mainstream and a significant number of employees to continue working remotely.

IBM, which has a large presence in the domestic market, has more than 1 million square feet of leased office space across Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Noida, Gurugram and Kolkata. The company employs more than 100,000 people in the country and also has temporary workers through staffing firms.

“Maybe 25% of the people need to come to the office regularly. For others, it will be flexible, and their workspace will also be the same,” a source, who declined to be named citing company policies, said. The person did not specify a timeframe for ending the lease agreements.