IBM to transfer scores of jobs from its UK headquarters in Portsmouth to Slovakia

IBM move work from Portsmouth HQ to Bratislava (IBM's Bratislava shiny and new building is shown in the picture, in central Bratislava)

IBM management seems to enthusiastically pursue a nearsourcing agenda it has in common with other large employers in the western world. Instead of focusing on innovation and improving service and quality or products and services or their marketing, to focus instead on identifying locations in europe that deliver no perceptible loss in quality but lower salaries than in overpriced UK locations.

The leaked email is black-and-white proof of an exodus of work from the firm's headquarters to cheaper sites in the EU, and has sparked fears of an informal drive to shed Portsmouth jobs.

The email reads: 'Starting now, until the beginning of quarter three (around July), we will be entering a period of transition where we will be transferring roles from the UK accounting centre in North Harbour to the Accounting Centre of Excellence in Bratislava.'

The letter is from Donna Wheeler, chief accountant of the team which deals with UK, Irish and Scandinavian accounts.

Note that these are white-collar jobs that were supposed to be the future for highly educated and renumaterated brits that would bestride the world closing deals and moving up the value chain to erm.. accountancy, law and other UK "strengths".

Ms Wheeler refused to comment when contacted by The (Portsmouth) News, and IBM's communications department refused to answer questions about the future of jobs on site.

One employee, speaking anonymously said: 'It's suggesting that the UK accounting centre is being moved to Bratislava wholesale, but in manageable chunks at a time and this was the first chunk.

'This isn't just the accounting department. If someone is paid a £50k package, and it can be done for £30 to 20k in Bratislava they'll move it.'

Sarah McCarthy-Fry, MP for Portsmouth North, said:'I always hesitate to get involved in commercial decisions. Without knowing the details of what protection they've got for existing staff, it's very difficult to comment.

The original article appeared in the Portsmouth news,