on which subject you might find this interesting (it's from silicon.com)
Barclays to axe 500 UK IT jobs
$350m EDS outsourcing deal also under review
By Andy McCue and Dan Ilett
Published: Wednesday 31 August 2005
Barclays is preparing to cut up to 500 jobs from its UK IT department in the
next month as part of a massive shake-up that includes the restructuring of
a key $350m desktop outsourcing deal with EDS.
Multiple sources have confirmed to silicon.com that the bank will sack
between 450 and 500 middle and lower ranking staff from Barclays' 2,500 UK
IT workforce over the next four weeks after staff were told that their jobs
are at risk.
The move is believed to be part of a strategy by the bank to replace the
lower 10 per cent of performers. IT staff claim that a new performance
benchmark and grading system has recently been introduced and once the job
cuts have been implemented Barclays will replace the staff with "higher
performers".
The $350m outsourcing deal with EDS to standardise more than 40,000 PCs on
Microsoft Windows and Office 2003 is also under review by senior executives
at the high street banking giant, with one insider claiming the project is
in complete "disarray".
The source told silicon.com in an email: "The IT infrastructure is left half
done with a mix of really old PCs [middle 90s] and new PCs that are costly
to support and completely incompatible with each other."
But despite speculation that Barclays will walk away from the seven-year
desktop outsourcing deal, silicon.com understands from other sources close
to the situation that EDS will not be ditched and the restructured deal will
actually see the scope of the EDS contract extended.
Other suppliers are also facing increased scrutiny from senior executives
and sources claim Accenture and HP's involvement in IT deals at the bank is
also under review.
A Barclays spokeswoman disputed the level of job cuts and claimed the 500
figure was "far too high" but refused to confirm what the actual number
would be. She also admitted the EDS outsourcing deal is under review.
"We are in the process of reassessing the structure and nature of our
contract with EDS based on the changing IT needs of the bank. We have
ongoing relationships with HP, Accenture and Microsoft. This contract
relates to migrating desktop software and was in its very nature a one-off
contract," she said.
A statement from EDS said: "EDS understands that the bank is reviewing its
overarching IT procurement strategy and considering the potential for a more
harmonised approach to IT procurement. We are confident our agreement with
Barclays has the flexibility to accommodate their changing requirements."
best wishes
Ursula
----- Original Message -----
From: John Logsdon
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Monday, September 05, 2005 6:52 AM
Subject: Re: EDS again
One really wonders what EDS have on British politicians or senior civil
servants.
EDS are also responsible for the mess of the Self Assessment system used
by the Inland Revenue. In the good old days, the IR ran it's own system
and it was silky smooth and clear. Then K Clarke (also guilty of
sabotaging the NHS) told them to move to self assessment and they brought
in EDS. I recall talking to one senior tax collector who candidly
admitted that they didn't always understand how the 'computer' output,
particularly for partnerships.
Is there a conspiracy somewhere? Any sensible organisation, once bitten,
would black any company that has given such atrocious performance for the
taxpayer. Oh I forgot - it's OK - that mug the taxpayer will cough up
again. Or has EDS written into the software or other contracts that
no-one else can do such work?
It is time such decisions were called to account. Is there anything in
FOI that can be used?
Pip pip
John
John Logsdon "Try to make things as simple
Quantex Research Ltd, Manchester UK as possible but not simpler"
[log in to unmask] [log in to unmask]
+44(0)161 445 4951/G:+44(0)7717758675 www.quantex-research.com
On Thu, 25 Aug 2005, Ted Harding wrote:
> Hi Folks,
>
> Under the headline "IT 'havoc' firm wins new government contract"
> the Guardian states that EDS (of Child Supprt Agency fame) has been
> awarded a contract by the Department of Work and Pensions to the tune
> of £2600000000 over 5 years.
>
> [ http://society.guardian.co.uk/e-public/story/0,13927,1555642,00.html ]
>
>
> EDS themselves comment:
> "The realigned contract provides EDS with greater certainty
> of their income from the Department, which subject to their
> performance, is valued at $4.7 billion (£2.6 billion) over
> 5 years. If EDS performs well under the contract the Department
> could award the company additional work valued at up to $324
> million (£180 million) over the lifetime of the contract."
>
> [ http://www.eds.com/news/news.aspx?news_id=2563 ]
>
>
> EDS's revenue in 2004 was $20.7 billion (£11.5 billion), so the DWP's
> donation amounts to 5 per cent of that per annum.
>
> [ http://www.eds.com/about/profile/ ]
>
>
> EDS's other clients within the UK Government include
>
> # Ministry of Defence
> # Court Service
> # HM Prison Service
> # Metropolitan Police
>
> [ http://www.eds.com/about/locations/uk/ ]
>
>
> Hmmmm
>
> Ted.
>
> PS When the Passport Agency went belly-up under IT stress in 1999,
> 1200 umbrellas were bought for the sake of the people queueing
> in the rain. In the event, it seems they had little or no use,
> and they have now been donated to OxFam.
>
> [ Hansard, 20 Jul 2005 : Column 1784W; Charles Clarke in
> answer to Mr Mark Oaten. http://tinyurl.com/dvujd ]
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------
> E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <[log in to unmask]>
> Fax-to-email: +44 (0)870 094 0861
> Date: 25-Aug-05 Time: 00:55:10
> ------------------------------ XFMail ------------------------------
>
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