Fujitsu is preparing to make about
500 people with specialist IT and general project skills
redundant.
The job losses follow Fujitsu's decision to quit as local
service provider for the south of England under the NHS's National
Programme for IT [NPfIT].
The news follows Fujitsu's warning of
700 potential redunancies in June.
Redunancies are expected in software and solution development,
solution delivery, business consulting, service delivery management
and project management. About 40 doctors and nurses and others with
clinical expertise are also expected to lose their jobs.
Staff were put on 90 days' notice of possible redundancy on 20
June. Some have been redeployed within Fujitsu. Others were hoping
that one or both of the other two NPfIT local service providers,
CSC or
BT, would take over
Fujitsu's contract is to supply the
Care
Records Service to dozens of trusts in the south of
England.
BT is expected to take over eight Fujitsu sites that have gone
live with the Cerner "Millennium" Care Records Service. But senior
executives working for the
NPfIT have indicated that there will be no decisions before the
end of August on any replacment for Fujitsu for most NHS trusts in
the South of England.
The uncertainty means that Fujitsu is expected to issue firm
redundancy notices to up to 500 staff by the end of August. The
formal 90-day consultation period of potential redundancy expires
on 18 September 2008.
For more information see Tony Collins' IT Projects blog
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