Software giant CSC is reportedly set to cut 1,100 jobs in the UK ahead of a merger with Hewlett Packard Enterprise Services.
A spokesman for the US-based IT services provider said between 10 and 20 per cent of UK jobs in the healthcare unit would be axed.
Fortune 500 company CSC, full name Computer Sciences Corporation, provides software and electronic patient records to NHS trusts 鈥� and unions have vowed to fight redundancies amid fears NHS patients could be affected.
CSC said in a statement: 鈥淚n order to align skills and resources to the demands of the market, we are restructuring parts of our UK organisation.
鈥淎s a result, we have identified a number of roles that potentially will be made redundant.
鈥淲e have a voluntary redundancy programme underway and expect the majority of the job reductions to come through this programme.
鈥淭hroughout the restructuring we are ensuring we continue to meet all of our client commitments.鈥�
The merger with HPE, the corporate IT solutions company which split off from Hewlett Packard last year, was announced last May.
CSC employs 6,500 people in the UK, with offices in Aldershot, Banbury, Chesterfield, Chorley, Leeds, London and Preston. The firm said there would be opportunities for many employees to reskill and potentially join other areas of CSC鈥檚 business in this country.
It also has contracts with BAE Systems and the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Unite the union responded with the following statement: 鈥淭hese cuts are aimed at culling backroom staff of the many 鈥榟ousehold name鈥� clients that CSC has.
鈥淲e condemn the management for not coming clean as to the exact details on the two tranches of job cuts. The bosses need to be more transparent with those under threat of losing their jobs.
鈥淵ou cannot remove this number of jobs and not seriously undermine frontline deliveries, whatever the product or service being provided.
鈥淪ome of the accounts affected impact on the smooth-running of the NHS and can only worsen healthcare services, given that many of them are under strain at present.
鈥淭he NHS cannot run without effective computer support systems and the reductions 鈥� in some cases proposals to make 50 per cent redundant 鈥� could put patients鈥� lives in jeopardy. However, these decisions are not even made in the UK, but in America.
鈥淎s UK workers are sacked, the senior directors of CSC prepare to share out $90.5 million in stock options and other payments when the new company becomes operable on April 1. This is sickening.
鈥淥ur members are very angry and our union will support all their efforts to push back on this. We will fight this tooth-and-claw.鈥�