UK IBM staff fear the axe

IBM is considering cutting hundreds of jobs from its UK outsourcing division, it emerged today.

The computer giant has begun to consult staff about the proposed job cuts, reports Personnel Today's sister publication, Computer Weekly.

IBM declined to comment on the number of possible job losses, but staff said that about 650 UK jobs were expected to go.

The consultation comes after IBM reported quarterly results last month which fell below analyst expectations.

In March, IBM said it planned to axe almost 600 jobs in its business services division in Germany.

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 union Amicus, which represents IBM workers, 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.”