Staff in tears as 300 jobs to go

A total of 300 jobs at Shropshire's IT giant Capgemini will be axed as part of a UK cost-cutting scheme by the company, it was revealed today.

Staff at Capgemini's Telford Town Centre site were called into meetings with top managers throughout yesterday to be told their role at the company was under threat.

It is still unknown which 300 members of staff of the 2,200 strong borough workforce will lose their jobs.

The workers, employed on contract with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, left offices in tears as they were told of their uncertain future.

A spokesman for Capgemini, said: "It is with regret that there will be 300 redundancies in Telford.

"Staff whose roles have been identified as 'at risk' of redundancy have been informed."

Union spokesman Chris Morrison, of PCS Capgemini group, said it was the worst day he had experienced in his career.

"The last 48 hours have been absolutely traumatic for the staff. People have been in tears in the middle of the offices.

"We have seen a period where some of the situations are so traumatic some of the managers that have been telling them the news have had to be sent home too.

"The site has never seen anything like it. In 25 years as a trade union activist I've never witnessed such an appaling day," he said.

Telford MP, David Wright, said: "This is a very difficult day for the workforce at Capgemini and my thoughts are with the people who have been informed that their jobs are at risk."

The Capgemini spokesman said they had also introduced voluntary redundancies to the programme.