IT services provider Logica is to cut 1,300 jobs amid profits warning and as Europe prepares for recession.
The company, which currently has a workforce of 41,000 staff worldwide, including about 5,000 in the UK, will cut 450 jobs in Britain and Sweden and 550 jobs in Belgium and Netherlands.
The company said "pockets of weakness" were first seen in September. Logica said many of their clients were delaying short-term expenditure and reducing discretionary investments to weather an uncertain economic future.
Logica CEO Andy Green said that they deeply regret the impact job losses will have on the people affected. "But we are confident that it is best for our clients, people and shareholders that we face squarely into the difficult economic conditions ahead. This decisive action will result in sustainable margin improvement in 2012," added Green.
The company, which has its head office in Reading and in other cities across the UK, had cut its forecast recently. Full-year growth, which Logica in November expected would be above 3%, will now be "around" 3%.