Global IT major IBM is looking to sack thousands of employees in UK, Germany and Ireland as it considers switching major portion of its labor force to the cheaper shores of Eastern Europe, China, India and South America.

The company pays an average $5,000 a year to its staffs in India, as against the sum of $50,000 to $80,000 for a similar job in the US.

IBM employs over 20,000 workers in the UK and 21,000 in Germany. The process of job cut in Western Europe has already started and more are expected to be made in the coming months.

The implied job cuts come on the heels of recent 5,000 lay offs made at IBM in America. Besides, speculations also hint on the axing of a certain number of US employees as a part of ‘resource action’.