Westcon makes further UK cuts

Distributor has informed another 15 staff that their jobs may be at risk

Distribution goliath Westcon has put another handful of UK staff on risk of redundancy notice, CRN has learnt.

About 15 staff were told their jobs are at risk last Friday, according to insiders.

It is believed that the majority work for the distributor’s Westcon Convergence arm, which is based in Burgess Hill and focuses on Avaya and Nortel kit. Pre-sales engineering and marketing roles are among those under threat.

Westcon made a small round of UK redundancies last Autumn as it effectively disbanded the European unit that focused on emerging technologies such as mobility.

The firm has a little over 400 staff in the UK and the two rounds of cuts taken together would represent less than 10 per cent of its local workforce.

Earlier this month Westcon’s parent Datatec confirmed that its financial performance for the year to 28 February was in line with expectations. It said at the time that operating cash generation at Westcon had been “very strong” in the second half of the year, although sources claim it has encountered weakness in its Nortel business.

Westcon could not be reached for comment at the time of going to press.