483 jobs to go at Warrington firm

TECHNOLOGY giant Hewlett Packard plans to axe 483 jobs at their site at Birchwood, Warrington, according to Unite the Union.
The jobs are among 1,124 to but cut across the company’s UK sites in the New Year, says the union.
More than 600 jobs are to go at Bracknell, 483 at the Kelvin Close site on the Birchwood Science Park and 23 at Sheffield.
Further jobs could be lost among people who work from home, according to Unite.
The news brought a swift response from Warrington North MP Helen Jones.
She said: “ This news is extremely disappointing and represents another blow to hard working people. It is particularly distressing for the families affected at this time of year.
“It is clear that the Chancellor’s optimistic rhetoric about improvements in the economy are premature and not being felt in Warrington.”
Unite said Hewlett Packard was a “long-term addict to a culture of job cuts”, adding that its European managers had little autonomy.
The union said the company blamed falling demand and reorganisation for the job losses it wants to implement in the first three months of next year.
A spokesman said: “For the last five years HP has been addicted to a culture of job cuts in the UK to such an extent that its highly skilled workforce has little faith in the way the company is being managed and will be going forward.
“Unite will be doing everything possible to mitigate these job losses which are a hammer blow to the UK’s IT sector and very distressing for employees in the run-up to Christmas.”
Leader of Warrington Borough Council, Terry O’Neill, said: ““We’re mindful of the distress that this will cause to any redundant employees and their families, and it’s unfortunate for Warrington as a whole that a company is considering local job losses.
“We will work with the company and the unions to mitigate the potential damage, and we hope the company will be able to help redundant employees to re-train and to find work elsewhere.
“For its part, Warrington Borough Council will continue to do everything in its power to help attract new business and new jobs to Warrington.”
Ironically, Hewlett Packard saw its share price jump seven per cent a few days ago on results that suggested its enterprise division would make up for falling PC sales.
Fourth quarter revenue fell three per cent – about half the size of the fall expected.
But revenue at the key enterprise group rose.
The 70-year-old company has struggled to keep up with shifting consumer demand for smaller, portable devices in recent times.
But the enterprise group revenue was up two per cent on the same period last year, with a 14.5 per cent operating margin.
Chief executive Meg Whitman, who took over in 2011, said: “Through improved execution, strong cost management, and with the support of our customers and partners, HP ended fiscal 2013 on a high note.”