With full 1989 figures out from IBM France and turnover figures announced by IBM Deutschland (see page five) it begins to look as if IBM (UK) had a rotten time in the domestic market, although exports – led by personal computers – are likely to have been brisk: the evidence comes from the fact that while France and Germany saw domestic sales up 15.2% and 14%, in each case their exports – France makes 3090s, Germany big disks and 9370s – were scarcely changed, which suggests that while each was taking its share of IBM UK exports, the UK subsidiary was failing to return the favour in adequate quantities; the UK company down in Portsmouth, which was labouring under power cuts and telephone failures and a company decree that it was too dangerous for people to go out to their cars because of the severe gale force winds sweeping the country yesterday, declined to comment on the UK figures ahead of announcement, but said that cost-cutting was a continuing process – 750 people were moved into marketing from support in 1988, and the company took on another 500 sales and marketing personnel that year.
