Shell issues 12% pay cut ultimatum to IT contractors
More double bubble trouble
Posted in Management, 8th July 2009 13:15 GMT
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Royal Dutch Shell has reportedly told its UK-based IT contractors they will be asked to quit if they fail to accept a 12 per cent pay cut.
According to Contractor UK, the multinational company wrote to its IT contractors last month, informing them of its plan to slash rates as part of a cost-cutting exercise.
It warned IT contractors who were unwilling to accept the cut that their job role at Shell could be axed.
The Register asked Shell to comment on the story. However, at time of writing, it had not got back to us.
The company underwent a massive overhaul of its IT and telecoms divisions in January last year, when Shell told staff that it planned to let go of around 3,000 people in the UK, US, Netherlands and Malaysia, of which about 1,000 were contractors.
By April 2008, Shell had set adrift most of its IT staff after it inked three outsourcing deals - worth $4.2bn over five years - to spin out its IT and telecoms operations to EDS, AT&T and T-Systems.
In recent months IT contractors in many UK-based firms have faced similar ultimatums over cuts in their pay rates, as companies have taken the opportunity to slash budgets in these economically glum times. ®
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COMMENTS
@Contractors
agreed - britain is so overvalued in real terms
you have to wonder if this is a temporary recession or a market adjustment.
They're doomed
Any company that outsources anything to EDS deserves everything they get. Crap software, late deliveries, spending overruns. They will probably be grateful to any IT workers they still have direct control over, life isn't fair and big companies get where they are by exploiting something somewhere to great effect, tough luck contractors, it's your turn.
@ AC 19:47
So how is "seniority to be used as the primary basis for advancement" any different from non-union shops? I've worked in union and non-union places, public and private sector, and IME complacency and (un)motivation are promoted as much within the confines of capitalist efficiency as without.
Yes this stagnation can - does - occur in unionised labour. Unionisation is not a requirement though.
/me gets back to the message boards
Paris - she labours for love.
Contractors
Earn that extra money in the good times to pay for the bad times. An Indian will do your job for a tenth of the cost and be just as useless as you are.
Old news
Dudes, I work in oil, and all teh oil companies did this months ago, and not just to the IT geeks.
You may be aware that last year oil was $147/bbl. Then it dropped to about $35/bbl. Now it's back up to $65/bbl. That rollercoaster saw costs go up massively (I had one megacorp tell me it wanted a 30% increase on all contractual prices), and the global credit-armageddon was teh perfect excuse to put a squeeze on all those b*ggers who put there prices up.
One company I know sent a note out to ALL staff (not just contractors) telling them that contractors sitting next to them were taking a 10% cut., with no consultation or redress - how rude is that?
To be fair, you should try planning a $1 billion investment with commodity price volatility as it is and not end up an inhuman megcorp....
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