(Bloomberg) — International Business Machines Corp. is investigating allegations against its head in China after a letter circulating online accused the executive of misconduct, including accepting gifts from business partners, the latest disruption to the company’s operations. the American firm in the Asian country.
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A former employee said in a letter to the U.S. company that President Chen Xudong of IBM’s Greater China Group received gift vouchers and cash equivalents from outside partners, leaked classified company information to others and violated the company’s expense policies. company by taking its staff to karaoke bars. Several Chinese media outlets, including the influential business publication Jiemian, reported on Monday.
An IBM spokesperson confirmed the existence of the letter and said the company is investigating it.
“IBM takes seriously and thoroughly investigates any suspected behavior that may have violated our business conduct guidelines. “We do not discuss individual employee circumstances and remain focused on serving our customers across Greater China,” the spokesperson said.
When contacted by a Bloomberg News reporter via WeChat, the Chinese equivalent of Whatsapp, Chen declined to comment and referred questions to IBM’s communications team.
In August, Bloomberg News reported that IBM was closing a hardware research team in China, in part due to geopolitical tensions between Washington and Beijing.
–With the help of Jessica Sui.
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