IT services company CSC is planning to cut 1,200 jobs
from its 10,000 strong UK operations after putting itself up for
sale last week.
CSC customers in the UK include Royal Mail, Whitbread, British
Nuclear Group and retailer Etam. It is also prime contractor for
the National Programme for IT in the North West region of
England.
CSC, which aims to cut 5,000 jobs, mainly in Europe, last month
announced plans to double the size of its Indian operations from
5,000 to 10,000 staff by 2007.
Phil Codling, senior analyst with Ovum, warned CSC customers to
remain on alert over service levels. “CSC’s employees have been
through a lot in the past six months. These announcements can only
add to their feelings of concern and insecurity, particularly in
Europe. That’s a situation that can’t go on for long if CSC is to
retain and motivate its staff.”
In August last year, the UK arm of CSC signed an agreement with
Amicus, the UK’s largest private sector union, that promised no
compulsory redundancies and committed to invest in the skills of
its UK staff. The US-based services company employs 10,000 people
in the UK.
Peter Skyte, national officer at Amicus told Computer Weekly the
company was no longer guaranteeing no compulsory redundancies. “CSC
is a highly profitable company making substantial profits from UK
staff. A highly skilled UK workforce is being pillaged to pump up
the share price in advance of a sale of the company.
“We will hold the company to its obligations to avoid compulsory
redundancies and reduce the number of employees to be dismissed in
the UK.”
CSC’s UK representatives said they could not comment.