Fears for Scots jobs as IBM set to axe 15,000 in European shake-up

SCOTLAND could be among the worst affected locations under a restructuring of computer giant IBM’s European operations.

Reports have pointed to about 15,000 jobs being axed over the coming months - with the group’s global services arm worst hit - and the UK is understood to be the region that will bear the brunt.

According to "Big Blue’s" website, more than 3000 staff work at its main Scottish site at Greenock, while smaller operations are located in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

According to some reports, a voluntary redundancy programme has begun at the firm’s UK operations, which cover about 35 different locations, as well as at other sites in Europe.

No-one from the company was available for comment today on the scale or locations of any future operational cuts. But according to earlier reports, the firm said it had "no idea" where the 15,000 figure had come from and indicated it had made "no final decisions".

However, just a few weeks ago, IMB said it was preparing for a "sizeable" restructuring of its European business.

Greenock is almost entirely focused on servicing computer networks for other customers - including consultancy, help desk and repair facilities - after retreating from PC manufacture.

IMB has just completed the sale of its PC-making arm to Chinese group Lenovo for about 920 million. Sales in Europe, issued two weeks ago, showed improvement from the New York-based group - but they fell short of Wall Street expectations. In particular, sales only hit 12.18 billion for the latest quarter when analysts expected 12.5bn. European sales fell five per cent overall.

It is also expected that a shrinking of the management structure in Europe, Middle East and Africa will take place.