Shelton previously described the ongoing cutbacks at IBM as "an ongoing process that we do throughout the year to match skills and resources with our client needs." IBM hasn't disclosed the number of employees being let go, but Alliance@IBM, a labor union that is trying to organize IBM workers, has counted about over the past two weeks, based on reports from employees who said they were let go. The union expects more cuts to occur as well.

Don Dowling, an employment law attoney at White & Case LLP in New York, said that by hiring a U.S. worker at a local pay rate overseas, IBM would be getting someone who knows the company and is experienced - while also saving money. A worker "willing to move to India for IBM is worth more to them than a person hired off the street, everything else being equal," Dowling said.

In addition, many countries require the use of written employment agreements for workers who are hired locally, instead of the "employment at will" provisions common in the U.S., according to Dowling. "You've got a better basket of rights than you do in the U.S.," he said.

IBM, which reported its for last year's fourth quarter on Jan. 20, is due to release its annual report next month. That typically offers some details about the size of the company's global workforce. According to data from the end of 2007, IBM had a total of 98,000 employees in Brazil, India, Russia and China, with the bulk of those positions - about 74,000 - in India.

, an assistant professor of public policy at in New York and author of the book Outsourcing America , said it's hard to know exactly what IBM's motivation is for Project Match program. But, he added, "for workers, it is a clear indication that IBM plans on accelerating its massive offshoring of U.S. and Canadian jobs." Citing , Hira questioned whether Project Match was really a publicity stunt - "a way to indicate compassion with zero real costs."