IBM to realign consumer PC unit.(Brief Article)

HFN: The Weekly Newspaper for the Home Furnishing Network, October, 1997

IBM Corp. has folded its consumer PC division into its business group, in response to the company's poor performance with its Aptiva branded home PCs.

Hundreds of employees involved in PC design, procurement, marketing and other areas in the consumer division, which employs about 11,000 people, will lose their jobs, according to industry executives.

The company was hurt by the sudden popularity of the sub-$1,000 PC market, a segment of which many of its rivals have taken advantage. The sub-$1,000 PCs now account for 40 percent of computers sold at retail, up from 9 percent earlier this year. IBM does not have a PC in that category. It plans to introduce its first sub-$1,000 unit in November.