CSC throws mince pies at diminishing workforce

Fruit and nutty bonus scheme

By Kelly Fiveash • Get more from this author

Posted in IT Channel, 18th December 2007 10:23 GMT

Outsourcing firm CSC has sprinkled a little bit of Christmas cheer on its thinning UK workforce by sending a mince pie to each of its employees.

A source told The Register that "CSC has really gone overboard with a xmas bonus scheme this year".

The company, which in recent months has slashed hundreds of jobs, told its staff last week that they will each receive some sweet pastry goodness through the post.

Eating 12 mince pies over the festive period is supposed to guarantee prosperity for the year ahead. But what does a single mince pie mean?

El Reg contacted CSC to find out if its employees could expect a financial reward this Christmas alongside the dried fruit, spices, and suet stuffed treat.

We asked a spokeswoman at the firm if CSC accepted that staff may find the mince pie a little hard to swallow given the current uncertainty surrounding many jobs at the firm.

She told us that it was merely a "Christmas gesture from the senior team" and that it was in no way related to any company bonus scheme. In fact, she confirmed that the firm had never handed out xmas bonuses to its staff.

She added that any suggestion that the mince pies were the only bonus CSC employees would receive this year was "absurd".

CSC, which was recently short-listed as a possible supplier for the UK government's ID card scheme, has been going through several rounds of redundancies to scrap up to 5,000 staff across Europe.

In October, it announced plans to shift more UK jobs at its global infrastructure services unit offshore in an effort to control costs.

The firm had been hoping to complete most of that process by Christmas, which will save even more cash on those pricey mince pies it's generously dishing out. ®

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