IBM began a new round of domestic layoffs on Thursday, with its $1 billion "workforce rebalancing" effort expected to slash as many as 13,000 jobs worldwide. Cuts are expected to come in New York, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma, North Carolina and Vermont. The union Alliance@IBM also reports 3,300 layoffs abroad, including in Brazil, Argentina, France, and Italy. A source told CNET that the cuts include 25 percent of its hardware division -- the Systems and Technology group. Big Blue is sparing some positions in New York state – at least for now. The company cut a deal that would keep 3,100 workers on the job in the Hudson Valley and surrounding areas through the end of 2016. Meanwhile, the company is investing $1 billion in a new Watson unit to be based in New York City, and will spend $1.2 billion to expand its SoftLayer cloud operations. It’s also is adding 500 employees at a state-owned technology center in Buffalo. IBM acknowledged the cuts, but did not specify the numbers:

IBM continues to rebalance its workforce to meet the changing requirements of its clients and to pioneer new, high-value segments of the IT industry. To that end, IBM is positioning itself to lead in areas such as cloud, analytics, and cognitive computing and investing in these priority areas.

It also noted that it’s continuing to hire, saying, "At any given time, IBM has more than 3,000 job openings in these and other growth areas in the U.S." The company is expected to hire hundreds for a new design studio in Austin, Texas. It also expanded its services business in Baton Rouge, La., where it plans extensive hiring, as well.