HP to create 700 jobs as it unveils plans for a Scottish IT hub

The firm announced yesterday that it intends to make Erskine in Renfrewshire a hub for delivering IT services to UK clients. The site is currently home to the multinationalcompany's sales and customer support operations.

Yesterday's announcement of the planned 700 new positions for "high-level" computer experts comes just a year after HP axed 700 manufacturing jobs at Erskine. In May 2009, a restructure of the business led to the transfer of production to the Czech Republic, resulting in the Scottish job losses.

Although the new jobs are in IT rather than manufacturing, the company yesterday said that employees who fell victim to last year's restructuring exercise can apply for the new jobs and could find themselves back at the company if they have the correct IT skills.

Yesterday's announcement follows a 7 million grant from government agency Scottish Enterprise and will convert Erskine into HP's UK IT hub.

The news was welcomed by politicians across the political spectrum. First Minister Alex Salmond said: "HP's decision to make this investment at Erskine reflects the quality of Scotland's skilled workforce to perform and deliver success.

"The Scottish Government, Scottish Development International and Scottish Enterprise work hard to promote Scotland as a key location to live, work and do business, and these 700 new jobs highlight our strengths as a first-class destination for technology."

Marc Waters, HP's head of strategy in the UK and Ireland, said: "Our clients look to HP to support their business goals by offering innovative, secure and highly-available services.

"HP has a strong heritage in Scotland and I am delighted to confirm our investment to develop the Erskine site as a hub for delivering industry-leading technology services."

Scottish Secretary Michael Moore said: "Scottish Development International and Scottish Enterprise have done well in attracting these jobs back to Scotland through Regional Selective Assistance and should be commended for their success in this instance.

"At the same time, the UK government is helping to attract inward investment by reducing corporation tax and keeping British businesses competitive.

"Hewlett-Packard has a long association with Scotland and it is good to see it moving forward and generating more jobs."

West Renfrewshire MSP Trish Godman said: "This announcement is a major boost for Renfrewshire and the local economy.

"These are 700 high-quality jobs that will go a long way to replacing the posts lost last year when Hewlett-Packard transferred manufacturing to the Czech Republic."

HP's academic foundations:

HP WAS founded in 1939 by Stanford University classmates Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard. The company went global in 1959 and was entering the computer business by 1966, where it became a major player by the 1980s. The firm established a base at South Queensferry in the 1960s. In 2003, the firm closed its Inchinnan site in Glasgow and moved all staff to Erskine. In May 2009, HP announced hundreds more jobs would be axed as it ended manufacturing at the Erskine plant and removed all manufacturing from Scotland and Germany, outsourcing it to the Czech Republic. At one point 2,500 people had been employed at Erskine but after the announcement in 2009 this dropped to 600.