What's going on at IBM's Watson Health?

IBM has laid off a number of employees in its Watson Health unit, but says initial reports that as much as 50 percent to 70 percent of the unit's workforce was furloughed are not accurate and that the reductions will not hurt its core cognitive computing business. A company representative, however, would not provide additional details or give the specific number of employees being let go. The company also refused to say how many people are employed in the Watson Health unit. "IBM is continuing to reposition our team to focus on the high-value segments of the IT market, and we continue to hire aggressively in critical new areas that deliver value for our clients and IBM," said the vendor in a written statement. "This activity affects a small percentage of our Watson Health workforce, as we move to more technology-intensive offerings, simplified processes and automation to drive speed."