From Manila to Makati to Quezon City to Taguig. That, so far, has been the journey of IBM Philippines as employees of the 78-years-old tech subsidiary started moving out of its current location in Eastwood City in Libis, Quezon City.
The company will be transferring to One World Place at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City. Unlike in Libis where it occupies about five floors in a building named after the company, IBM will occupy — at least for the meantime — a single floor for its corporate executives.
The tech firm first held office in Escolta, Manila in 1937 before transferring later on to Makati in a building now occupied by Paseo Center mall along Paseo de Roxas. When real estate firm Megaworld began to develop Eastwood City in the late 1990s, it lured the company to relocate in the new IT ecozone by naming one of the the first buildings there as IBM Plaza.
But the worsening traffic situation in the area and subsequent rise of BGC as a hub for top multinational firms pushed the tech titan to finally get out of the place. In December last year, then newly appointed IBM Philippines country general manager Luis Pineda told Newsbytes.PH in an interview that the company was preparing for its eventual transfer to Taguig City.
Sources at the company said they expect to fully transfer at the BGC by October since the office facilities are still being fixed.
