Hewlett Packard's plan to move hundreds of IT jobs to India have been abandoned following pressure from unions.The work involves record maintenance for the Department of Work and Pensions and the proposal was to move jobs from sites in Newcastle, Lytham and Sheffield to Bangalore
The union has said its members have "forced" the government contractor to abandon proposals after they voiced concerns not only about job losses but also data security. The MP Mary Glindon added her backing to the unions saying that offshoring poses a risk to the economic recovery in the UK
Facing pressure from union members and MPs, a DWP permanent secretary confirmed that it was his minister's "starting point" to encourage jobs to be kept in the UK but he added that this challenge sat alongside the need to cut department costs by 40 per cent.