IBM is considering cutting hundreds of jobs from its UK
outsourcing division, Computer Weekly has learnt.
The company has begun to consult staff at its outsourcing
division on the proposed job cuts. IBM declined to comment on the
number of possible job losses, but staff said that around 650 UK
jobs were expected to go.
The consultation comes after IBM reported quarterly results last
month, which fell below analyst expectations.
Although IBM announced a £500m deal with Lloyds TSB last
December to supply voice and data services, the company has not
featured in recent large multibillion-pound government outsourcing
contracts, such as the NHS modernisation or the £4bn IT services
contract with the Ministry of Defence.
In March IBM said it planned to axe almost 600 jobs in its
business services division in Germany. Most other large outsourcing
suppliers have announced jobs losses over the last few years in
response to reduced revenue and in an attempt to cut costs.
In a statement, IBM UK said, "IBM is constantly rebalancing its
workforce to meet evolving customer needs. IBM is engaging in
consultations with employees on how to move decision making closer
to our clients and become more productive and faster in the
marketplace."
Peter Skyte, national officer for IT union Amicus, said, “In the
past IBM has paid lip service to consulting the workforce and we
shall be looking very closely at how the company approaches this.
We are particularly keen to ensure that highly skilled IT
professionals are not made compulsorily redundant.”