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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 ------------------------------ > > ****************************************************** > Please note that if you press the 'Reply' button your > message will go only to the sender of this message. > If you want to reply to the whole list, use your mailer's > 'Reply-to-All' button to send your message automatically > to [log in to unmask] > ******************************************************* > ****************************************************** Please note that if you press the 'Reply' button your message will go only to the sender of this message. If you want to reply to the whole list, use your mailer's 'Reply-to-All' button to send your message automatically to [log in to unmask] ******************************************************* ****************************************************** Please note that if you press the 'Reply' button your message will go only to the sender of this message. If you want to reply to the whole list, use your mailer's 'Reply-to-All' button to send your message automatically to [log in to unmask] *******************************************************