Comtek slams HP cull and eyes recruitment

Hardware giant's UK staff reduction provokes condemnation

Emptying the desk: HP staff face redundancy

Repairs firm Comtek has warned that HP's planned UK redundancies will exacerbate the UK's skills shortage as it looks to give a home to the most talented cast-offs.

HP revealed last month that it is looking to slash 9,000 jobs worldwide. Earlier this week it emerged that 934 of its UK workforce of 16,500 are facing the chop. Union Unite was quick to condemn the plan and predicted a further 1,000 staff would ultimately lose their jobs.

Affected staff are likely to be drawn from HP's offices in Bracknell, Bristol, Hook, Erskine, Milton Keynes, London and Warrington, said the union.

Peter Skyte, Unite's national officer for IT and communications, claimed HP's move "undermines the coalition government view that the private sector will fuel job growth out of the economic recession".

"There are also serious implications for those who remain in their jobs and carry on service to customers and clients," he said. "Skeleton levels of staff will lead to stressed out workers who struggle to complete an ever-increasing workload. The fact that the company still retains nearly 2,000 temporary staff and contractors merely adds insult to injury."

Comtek chief executive Askar Sheibani claimed the news is a "blow to the British economy". He claimed HP-centric firms should look to hire those being made redundant.

“Certainly, here at Comtek, we will be looking to offer jobs to several highly skilled engineers formerly employed by HP," he said. "[This will] bring additional expertise to our team and ensure we are well placed to support HP customers in the repair and refurbishment of their legacy equipment.”