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EDS sharpens axe for another 90 UK staff

What have you done for me lately?

IT outsourcing giant EDS will axe up to 90 UK-based jobs by the end of this month as part of its "ongoing restructuring and re-skilling programme".

Workers at the firm were told yesterday that EDS has pinpointed some 700 jobs, where staff can apply for voluntary redundancy. This includes 333 at its business management unit.

An EDS spokesman told The Register that while the company’s "primary focus" was to lay-off staff affected through its voluntary redundancy programme, some compulsory redundancies would be inevitable.

However, he was unable to confirm any breakdown of numbers. He said EDS was "undertaking the cuts to make sure we have the skills we need to drive the business forward".

Meanwhile, the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) trade union, which represents the interests of EDS employees, has voiced concerns about the company’s compulsory redundancy plans.

The union’s national officer Jim Hanson said in a bulletin to PCS members in EDS yesterday:

"Our union has pressed EDS for more information about their restructuring plans and we have raised concerns over the lack of proper consultation or a real opportunity to influence the business rationale before now."

Staff have been given a cut-off date of 6 May to volunteer for redundancy. If the number of individuals who step forward proves insufficient, compulsory redundancies will follow. The whole process is expected to be completed by the end of this month (31 May).

This latest round of job cuts follows a cull of 250 UK staff at the firm in January this year.

EDS holds a number of key public sector IT contracts with the likes of the Department for Work and Pensions and the Military of Defence and has some 15,000 staff based in the UK.

We asked the EDS spokesman if the company, which last month reported a healthy Q1 increase in revenue to $5.37bn (up 3 per cent), plans further lay-offs. "All I can say is that the re-skilling programme is ongoing and involves a full process of consultancy with the union," he said. ®

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