Fujitsu has announced a voluntary redundancy scheme and plans to cut its UK workforce by nearly 10%.
Compulsory redundancies “may need” to be introduced if its voluntary redundancies fall short of its target, the troubled supplier told staff.
Fujitsu’s UK business has been in turmoil since its role in the Post Office scandal became mainstream news. It has since lost significant business in the public sector, where it has been traditionally strong, as the government, under pressure, attempts to distance itself from the supplier.
A source told Computer Weekly that Fujitsu is not only losing business where it is the incumbent supplier, but also on bids for work it expected to win, including in the private sector.
A message from UK head Anwen Owen said: “I recognise that this may be unsettling. We are taking this step at the beginning of our transformation journey so that we can continue to invest in the areas of our business that our customers need most, to build a simpler, more reliant company, and to be best placed for long-term strength.”
According to the communications sent to staff, Fujitsu has a target to reduce by 425 roles in what it describes as the “voluntary exit scheme”.
It will impact staff across the business, with UK delivery seeing the biggest hit, with 270 roles set to be made defunct.
The Japanese IT giant will reduce staff in its UK enabling functions by 75, and sales enablement will see 20 roles disappear. Its public and private sector businesses are also seeking cuts.
Fujitsu had not responded to a request for comment when this article was published.
In January, Computer Weekly reported that the company asked its chief operating officer to cut costs by 10%, which would put jobs at risk.
In 2024, after ITV’s dramatisation of the Post Office scandal, Fujitsu set a self-imposed ban on bidding for new public sector work until the scandal’s public inquiry was completed. The inquiry’s main report is not expected until later this year, with no date set.
Contract loss
The recent loss of the £245m HMRC Trader Support Service (TSS) contract affected up to 100 Fujitsu workers, according to one source, with TUPE transfers to its replacement supplier, Netcompany, and cuts expected.
Meanwhile, Fujitsu is being heavily criticised by MPs because it has not yet committed to the amount it will contribute towards the costs of the scandal, which has cost taxpayers billions of pounds.
During a Business and Trade Select Committee hearing, chair Liam Byrne described Fujitsu as a “parasite” on the UK government
In October 2025, campaigning peer James Arbuthnot demanded Fujitsu pay £700m in the interim. “Fujitsu has caused great harm to thousands of people and should pay a great amount to compensate for this,” he said.
“It is true that others were also to blame – Post Office managers, the legal system, accountants and the government,” said Arbuthnot. “But the Horizon system was Fujitsu’s, and it was Fujitsu which was altering the subpostmasters’ accounts behind everyone’s backs and saying that it was not doing so. Fujitsu then colluded with the Post Office in securing miscarriages of justice.”
The Post Office scandal was first exposed by Computer Weekly in 2009, revealing the stories of seven subpostmasters and the problems they suffered due to Fujitsu’s Horizon accounting software.
