Norwegian systems house EDB Business Partners is to shed 185 staff as it forecasts no upturn in market conditions over 2003.
The firm, which supplies systems and consultancy services to banks and telecoms companies across the Nordic markets, says it does not expect any material market growth in 2003. The cuts, affecting 6 per cent of the workforce, will lead to a Nkr65 million chage in the group's fourth quarter accounts.
Bjørn Trondsen, CEO, EDB Business Partners, comments: "The reduction in staff numbers is a necessary response to the level of activity we expect to see in our various business areas in 2003.
"We hope that sufficient numbers of staff will accept the voluntary termination packages we offer them so that we can avoid having to make any compulsory redundancies."
Almost half of the job losses come the banking and finance unit, which recently completed the integration of the Novit and Fellesdata product platforms. The company says the growth in market demand for IT services that was expected from this sector when Novit and Fellesdata were merged in 2000 has not materialised
A further 50-60 jobs will be lost from the unprofitable consultancy division, while the telecomms business will shed 30-35 full-time positions.