Potential job losses at Chesterfield firm to be debated in Parliament

Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) announced proposals to axe a total of 1,100 jobs - including some at its site on Old Road in Brampton - in January.

Now the issue will be discussed further in Parliament where Mr Perkins is expected to outline the potential effect on government contracts delivered by CSC.

Mr Perkins said: “Over the last four months, CSC has announced plans to cut over 1,500 jobs, which is a third of their workforce. When this number of jobs are cut in the steel industry, it becomes front page news and questions are raised at PMQs, and it should be no different for the IT industry.

“CSC deliver services for the NHS, GCHQ, Passport Office, Metropolitan Police, and it is only right that MPs get to scrutinise the potential effect on public services.”

The announcement came just one month after the firm announced an initial 499 redundancies.

CSC said it was continuing to restructure parts of its UK organisation ‘in order to align skills and resources to the demands of the market’.

A spokesman said: “As a result, we have identified a number of roles that potentially will be removed from the business. We have opened a voluntary redundancy programme in some areas of our business and there will also be opportunities for employees to re-skill, with the potential of joining other areas of CSC’s UK business.”

The Unite union hit back at the proposals saying that bosses at CSC need to be more transparent and that it would fight the cuts ‘tooth and claw’.

Workers staged a protest outside the office in Brampton earlier this month after the proposals were made public.

As well as applying for an adjournment debate in the House of Commons, Mr Perkins is arranging a meeting with union representatives and MPs from all the areas where CSC have sites to discuss the issue further.

“I will be doing what I can to keep job losses in Chesterfield to an absolute minimum,” Mr Perkins added.