Fujitsu employees apply for voluntary redundancy in droves as morale plummets
Fujitsu has obtained extra purposes to its voluntary redundancy scheme than it was searching for.
In April, the troubled provider informed employees that obligatory redundancies “might have” to be launched if voluntary redundancies fall wanting its goal.
However in line with the Public and Business Companies (PCS) Union, the voluntary exit scheme provided by Fujitsu as a part of its plan to cut back headcount by 10% has exceeded the 425 purposes it sought, with 470 employees volunteering for the scheme.
The deliberate cuts will impression employees throughout the enterprise, with UK supply seeing the most important hit, the place 270 roles are set to be made redundant. The Japanese IT big plans to cut back employees in its UK enabling capabilities by 75, and gross sales enablement will see 20 roles disappear. Its private and non-private sector companies are additionally looking for cuts.
It’s not identified how lots of the voluntary purposes can be authorized, and Fujitsu had not responded to questions from Laptop Weekly when this text was printed.
Fujitsu employees need out
The oversubscription displays low morale throughout the enterprise, which has confronted big public criticism since January 2024, when its function within the Publish Workplace scandal grew to become extra broadly understood.
A supply informed Laptop Weekly: “Present and former Fujitsu staff have stated they’ve misplaced religion in Fujitsu’s management and simply need out after years of low pay rises, repeated restructures, redundancies, and the persevering with fallout and media protection from the Publish Workplace Horizon Inquiry.
“A number of stated senior management appear extra involved with limiting authorized legal responsibility and defending themselves from the results of previous choices than restoring belief with staff, leaving many with the sensation that Fujitsu is drifting additional into decline.”
The PCS Union, which represents a proportion of Fujitsu UK employees, stated: “Whereas not all purposes are anticipated to be authorized, we imagine the employer is attempting to maximise voluntary exits, leading to a delay to any potential obligatory redundancy course of till at the least the second half of June. It’s understood that Fujitsu desires a transparent image of voluntary departures earlier than deciding whether or not additional measures are required.”
• Learn extra: Fujitsu’s function within the Publish Workplace scandal: Every part it is advisable know
Individually, in July 2025, Fujitsu put practically 500 UK staff on discover of attainable redundancy because it deliberate to chop greater than 100 roles. This adopted cuts in April 2024, when Fujitsu minimize about 100 jobs in its UK gross sales and pre-sales groups and, months later, remodeled half of its Oracle Apply staff – round 60 jobs within the UK – redundant.
Fujitsu shedding UK enterprise
Fujitsu has since misplaced vital enterprise within the UK public sector, the place it has been historically sturdy, as the federal government, beneath strain, makes an attempt to distance itself from the provider.
Notably, final month, the Publish Workplace lastly named the 2 suppliers that may exchange Fujitsu on its Horizon contract.
In keeping with Tussell, there have been simply shy of £600m in Horizon contract extensions over time, and it estimates the price of the contract with Fujitsu over its lifetime to be £2.48bn.
The Publish Workplace signed the primary contract in 1999 with ICL, which was majority-owned by Fujitsu.
• Learn extra: Publish Workplace Horizon scandal defined: Every part it is advisable know
Final month, it was introduced that the Publish Workplace would spend £500m on changing the Horizon IT system, with Accenture taking up from Fujitsu in operating the system and US retail specialist One View Commerce changing it with new software program.
Fujitsu has additionally had main contract losses at HM Income & Customs (HMRC), the place the federal government awarded Amazon Net Companies the contract to offer companies to allow it to exit three Fujitsu datacentres.
In July, the House Workplace is ending an IT companies contract with Fujitsu and transferring it in-house, with the organisation presently engaged on an exit plan.
The contract, generally known as ITNow Service Desk, was initially signed in 2021 and was price £21m over three years. It was due for renewal, however the House Workplace determined to maneuver the service in-house in the course of the retendering course of.
In the meantime, Netcompany changed Fujitsu on HMRC’s £245m post-Brexit Northern Eire buying and selling service after the troubled provider was dropped. The Danish IT agency landed the HMRC Dealer Assist Service (TSS) contract.
Laptop Weekly first uncovered the Publish Workplace scandal in 2009, revealing the tales of seven subpostmasters and the issues they suffered as a result of Horizon accounting software program, which led to probably the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British historical past.
