3Com cuts jobs over financial worries

3Com/USR's financial woes have caused a second spate of redundancies after the vendor closed its Cirencester branch, just months after vehemently denying that it planned to do so.

Due to high inventory levels in December last year, the company will shed 30 positions, primarily based in software development, after reporting a downturn in its Q2 results.

The jobs losses come on top of the 41 redundancies announced last year, the majority of which were ex-Sonix staff whose company the networking giant had acquired in 1995 (PC Dealer, 26 November 1997).

3Com/USR had previously refuted claims that the Cirencester branch would close, stating the redundancies were part of an overall plan to consolidate the operation as a result of the acquisition.

Sharon Studers, general manager of the office access division at 3Com, said: 'In December, we took another look at the branch as a result of the inventory level issue.'

Studers denied 3Com had waited to shut down the Cirencester branch since November. 'We had done everything we could at that point to consolidate the business,' she said.

But Bob Jones, industry specialist at Schroder Ventures and founder of Sonix, said: 'This is not as dramatic as the last lay-offs, but it was inevitable.'

Jones remained unconvinced that the closure and redundancies were due to financial problems: 'Here are two large organisations, 3Com and USR, where there are lots of overlapping products lines and functions.'

Studers said 3Com now plans to set up a European support office in Winnerish, headed by Phil Davies, who previously ran technical and customer service.

She added: 'The Cirencester branch was the only division that used its own manufacturing operation rather than using the centre in Ireland.'