THOUSANDS of Hampshire employees of computer giant IBM are waiting today to hear where the axe will fall in a round of extensive job cuts.

IBM, known as Big Blue, has revealed plans to cut up to 13,000 posts, mostly from its European operations where it has 100,000 staff.

It is tight-lipped on further details of the restructuring before staff are informed by web-cast later today. But any losses could have a major impact locally, with about 3,000 people employed at a major facility in Hursley and hundreds more at the firm's UK headquarters in Portsmouth.

IBM said it would realign operations in Europe to reduce bureaucracy in lower-growth countries.

A company statement said: "As a result, IBM will create a number of smaller, more flexible local operating units in Europe to increase direct client contact.''

The Amicus union said it was seeking urgent talks with IBM to discover the scale of redundancies in the UK.

National officer Peter Skyte said: "This announcement by IBM is a slash and burn approach to first-quarter financial results aimed at boosting the share price and the resulting share options of senior US executives.

"IBM is behaving like the worst 19th century farmer - hiring for the harvest and firing at the end of the season - and treating skilled IT professionals as mere commodities of the market. We fear the worst, given that it is quicker, cheaper and easier to get rid of workers in the UK than elsewhere in Europe."

IBM surprised investors in April when it missed first-quarter earnings estimates by five cents (2.7p) a share. Chief financial officer Mark Loughridge warned then that the company planned a "sizeable restructuring".