Some IBM employees were rankled this week when the technology giant notified workers it would change the way it makes 401(k) contributions.

The net effect of the change: Some employees could receive a smaller contribution from IBM into their retirement accounts than they would under the old system. As a result, employees are fuming that IBM's policy change is an insult to colleagues who are laid off in future years.

The company, which employs thousands in Research Triangle Park, notified workers Wednesday that it will stop making matching payments every two weeks in paychecks. Instead, IBM will make a contribution once a year.

The catch: "You must be employed on December 15 of each year to receive your IBM contribution for that year," according to the email from Randy MacDonald, IBM's senior vice president for HR.

The estimated number of casualties from Monday's layoff at IBM has risen to 1,440 and is likely to be close to the final tally, according to a labor union that is trying to organize IBM's workers.

"This is a big one," said union organizer Lee Conrad in New York. "It's close to the final number."

Conrad said that a half-dozen anonymous emails from IBM's site in Research Triangle Park indicates that North Carolina was not spared in this round of layoffs. The jobs being eliminated in this country are being sent to other countries, the posts say.

The Alliance@IBM began reporting IBM's layoffs on Monday as reports began trickling in from affected workers. The Alliance was able to estimate the layoff totals because affected workers receive notices disclosing how many workers in their units were let go and how many spared.

IBM, which employs about 10,000 people at its Research Triangle Park campus, is laying off some employees here and in Charlotte, according to a labor union trying to organize IBM's workers.

"We are hearing of job cuts that started yesterday at IBM at two divisions -- Systems Technology Group and Global Technology Services," said Lee Conrad, national field coordinator of Alliance@IBM.

In addition to Charlotte and RTP, the layoffs are occurring at IBM facilities in New York, Georgia, California and Rochester, Minn., Conrad said.

Conrad said his group doesn't yet know the extent of the cuts in North Carolina or elsewhere.

IBM's nationwide layoff total has passed the 2,900 mark at Research Triangle Park and other company locations, according to a union trying to organize the company's workers.

The Alliance@IBM this week posted the newest layoff total on its web site, www.endicottalliance.org, as more information trickled in from laid off workers.

IBM doesn't disclose how many people it lays off, and the Alliance@IBM has filled the void as an information clearinghouse for workers, investors, competitors and journalists.

IBM has laid off 2,408 people Monday as part of its latest round of job cuts, according to a union trying to organize the company's workers.

The total so far exceeds the original prediction by The Alliance@IBM that IBM would cut about 2,000 jobs in the United States and Canada in this round.

The cuts are affecting IBM's operations in Research Triangle Park and other locations nationwide, the group reports.

"I've been shocked," said Lee Conrad, national coordinator at The Alliance@IBM. "This has been one of the bigger one-day job cuts I've seen at IBM."

Local workers at IBM, one of the area’s biggest employers, got hit by another wave of layoffs today.

The extent of the damage from this round is not clear, but those notified will swell the ranks of the jobless already well-represented by castoffs from Sony Ericsson, Nortel Networks, Lenovo and others.

The cuts affected IBM operations across the nation, according to a labor union trying to organize IBM’s workers.

“It’s clear IBM is moving work offshore at a record rate,” said Lee Conrad, national field coordinator of Alliance@IBM.

The union reported that IBM had cut nearly 500 jobs in the U.S. and Canada as of this afternoon. Conrad said the total is likely to increase as more information is collected.