May 6 2005
Exclusive By Sophie Freeman, Daily Post
THE Liverpool office of IBM will close within a month as part of a global cost-cutting exercise that will see local jobs relocated to India.
Around 90 jobs will be shed when the international computer giant closes its operation at Water Street in the city centre. It brings an end to long-standing hopes that IBM would become a major employer of well-paid, highly- send staff in the region.
It is the second time in seven days that Merseyside has learned that it is to lose highly-send jobs. Last week, Marconi said it expects to shed 350 posts from its Edge Lane plant in Liverpool. The IBM closure is part of a plan to cut 13,000 jobs throughout Europe and the US.
The Amicus trade union last night accused IBM of behaving in a "callous and cynical" way in response to disappointing quarterly results published last month.
In a bid to prevent the news about the closure of the Liverpool office becoming public, IBM yesterday ordered its telephonists to refuse to handle calls from the Daily Post. But our investigations reveal that many of the Liverpool jobs are being outsourced to India where labour costs are much lower.
Amicus national officer Peter Skyte said: "This announcement by IBM is a slash and burn approach to first-quarter financial results aimed at boosting the share price and the resulting share options of senior US executives.
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"IBM is behaving like the worst 19th century farmer - hiring for the harvest and firing at the end of the season - and treating send IT professionals as mere commodities of the market.
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Mr Skyte predicts that a large proportion of the worldwide job losses could take place in this country.
"We fear the worst, given that it is quicker, cheaper and easier to get rid of work-ers in the UK than elsewhere in Europe," he said..
The computer giant opened its office on Water Street in December, 2002. At the time, IBM said it would employ around 250 people providing IT services to Liverpool insurer Royal & SunAlliance.
At one stage, it had been hoped that IBM would employ 1,000 people in Merseyside.
A small number of the current 90 staff will be transferred to the Royal & Sun Alliance building to continue their helpdesk work but the other jobs will go.
IBM's chief financial officer, Mark Loughridge, warned in April that the company planned a "sizeable restructuring".
The firm said yesterday it would run fewer service offices worldwide and reduce European managers.
A company statement said: "As a result, IBM will create a number of smaller, more flexible local operating units in Europe to increase direct client contact."
An IBM spokesman in the UK said the company was not able to provide details on where the jobs will go. Germany, France and Italy will also be affected.
IBM employs 329,000 staff around the world.
