Fujitsu to slash 550 UK jobs

The axe is poised over 550 UK jobs as beleaguered Fujitsu slashes 16,400 staff worldwide. Likely UK cuts are around 330 jobs at ICL, and 220 jobs at Fujitsu Telecommunications (FTEL UK).

The Japanese technology giant said today that it would shed 10 per cent of its global workforce in a sweeping restructure programme. "Fujitsu has a finger in every pie and the market has been hit very badly" said Bloor Research senior analyst Tony Lock.

A statement issued by the company revealed that the total number of people affected would be in excess of 20,000. "In conjunction with the current restructuring, staff reductions totalling 16,400 people [11,400 overseas and 5000 in Japan, including reductions at suppliers] will be made. Taking into account personnel shifts, a total of 21,100 people will be affected," it said.

ICL representative Rachel Waring told vnunet.com: "900 service and software jobs will go in total from ICL and DMR [Fujitsu's US subsidiary]. We don't know yet what the split will be."

Combined, ICL and DMR have 28,000 staff, and three per cent are being axed. If the cuts are across the board, 330 of ICL's 11,000 UK staff are out in the cold.

A spokesman for FTEL UK said that its Birmingham-based HQ would bear the brunt of the redundancies. "There has been a downturn in the telecoms market and this is beginning to affect us here in Birmingham," he said.

The total international job cuts are 4800 in Fujitsu's PC and Peripherals division, 2900 in Communications Equipment, 900 in Software and Services and 2800 in Chips and Flat Panel.

Fujitsu also said that, in a further cost cutting exercise, it would pull the plug on its PC hard drive business and slash its chip packaging units from seven to five.