Court documents from an ageism lawsuit show company bosses discussing making mature employees “extinct”
IBM executives called older employees “older” “dinobabies”They were discussed as well as possible ways of making them. “extinct,”Documents made public Friday by the Federal District Court
These emails were part of an anti-ageism suit brought against IT company and its employees. “to oust older employees from its workforce”According to the plaintiff, they should be replaced with millennials.
In 2018, IBM fired thousands of employees over 40, prompting an employee lawsuit.
Unnamed, high-ranking executives wrote that IBM had an “amazing” email. “dated maternal workforce,”It must be changed, he claimed. “They really don’t understand social or engagement. Not digital natives. A real threat for us,”The message was not over.
This trove contained previously sealed documents that also included older works dubbed. “dinobabies,” while plans to make them “Extinct” were also discussed.
Email exchanges can be used “highly incriminating” and reflect “age animus from IBM’s highest ranks,”Shannon Lissd-Riordan was an employment lawyer representing the plaintiff. Some of her claims are being considered for class-action status.
IBM spokesman Adam Pratt defended his company’s employment practices as news of the filings became public. “IBM never engaged in systemic age discrimination,”He said: “Employees were separated because of shifts in business conditions and demand for certain skills, not because of their age.”
Pratt made an attempt to discredit the ageism allegations by pointing out that IBM had hired over 10,000 Americans aged 50 and older between 2010 and 2020. He stated that 2020’s median age was 48.
“Some language in emails between former IBM executives that has been reported is not consistent with the respect IBM has for its employees,”IBM stated in a statement.
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