GOVERNMENT

By Joris Evers, IDG News Service -- IBM is cutting about 380 U.S.-based jobs in its software division in an effort to eliminate overlapping positions and increase efficiency, the company said Thursday. The cuts affect about 1% of IBM's 38,000 global software jobs and are mainly in marketing and administrative areas across IBM's software brands, IBM spokesman Tim Breuer said. Customer facing functions have been spared, he said. Employees hit by the layoffs are in multiple IBM facilities including those in Austin, Texas; Raleigh, North Carolina; Somers, New York; Boulder, Colorado, and Cupertino, California, Breuer said. The employees were notified on Wednesday and are encouraged to apply for other jobs within IBM. If unsuccessful in finding another position with the vendor, they will leave after 30 days with a severance package, he said.