Camerons to cut 9 per cent of support staff as part of Integreon deal
CMS Cameron McKenna is to lay off 9 per cent of its support staff, with a further 21 per cent facing relocation, as part of the transfer of its business services functions to outsourcer Integreon.
Duncan Weston
The details of the agreement with Integreon were revealed to staff at the firm yesterday.
Of the 363 people currently employed in business services roles, 21 per cent will be relocated to either Bristol or India - the equivalent of 76 members of staff. As many as 33 face redundancy.
It is not clear how many of the redundancies will come from the London office, where just over half the firm’s support staff are based.
In a memo to staff, managing partner Duncan Weston said: “We’re pleased to be moving forward with our plans to work with Integreon. Unfortunately, this will mean some redundancies in London as Integreon relocates and adds resources to Bristol and India, re-engineers processes and deploys new technology.
“The changing legal landscape requires constant innovation in the way we do business. This new approach to our business services will give us the ability to focus on our clients and provide a more sophisticated service.
“It creates greater flexibility to scale support services based on demand, and gives us access to a more advanced technology with the benefits of future investment by Integreon towards building a unified business model. It’ll also allow us the option to integrate our approach to business services across our international businesses.”
Camerons kicked off a consultation process with all staff yesterday ahead of the proposed transfer date of 1 April.
The proposed transfer will see Integreon buy the shares in Camerons’ business service company, meaning it will not have to transfer the remaining staff under TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment)) regulations. The proposals will see transferred employees retain their current salaries, terms and conditions.
The firm would not give details of the price paid for its business service company, but confirmed that the money would be recapitalised and used on future projects, including investments in new technologies and real estate.
Integreon will take a floor in Camerons’ City base from the summer, with chief operating officer Tony Wright, who has been on secondment with the outsourcer since June last year, expected to become an Integreon employee.
The Camerons partnership voted unanimously in favour of the deal last November (23 November 2010). Partners will not be involved in consultations with support staff.
Integreon CEO Liam Brown said: “CMS has the highest standards and set us the goal of delivering best-in-class services. We’re glad that we met their bar and look forward to a mutually rewarding, long-term relationship.”
Some transferred staff will service other Integreon clients in addition to Camerons, although the majority are expected to work exclusively for the firm.
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Readers' comments (29)
Rural bliss | 25-Jan-2011 1:11 pm
I've passed Weston's bland statement through my recently developed Corporate Reports Analysis Program, which provides the following translation:
"We're actually making lots of money, far more than most people could even dream of earning, and we could easily afford not to make these redundancies. However, by dumping loyal employees, and transferring their work to people who are very poor and will work for next to nothing we can help satisfy our insatiable greed and selfishness, which is our real priority."
A very useful program, and one which I intend to make widely available.
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Anonymous | 25-Jan-2011 1:57 pm
Deliverance? - wasn't that a movie where .......
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Hugey | 25-Jan-2011 3:11 pm
Second-rate firm even at its peak. To be fair though, if you can't cut it there you probably shouldn't be pretending to be a lawyer. Bring the h8.
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Ashley Balls | 25-Jan-2011 9:08 pm
It will be interesting to see next year's accounts and whether the 'savings' end up being trousered by partners or used to gain a competitive advantage for the clients - lower fees.
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Anonymous | 26-Jan-2011 9:59 am
I think that there are a number of points here.
1. Integreon offer a service, and went to see Camerons.
2. The Board at Camerons listened, and put the service offer to the Partnership.
3. The Partnership voted for Integreon services.
There are lots of senior individuals involved here, but it is also true that the Partners were offered the vote - yes or no to Integreon - and they voted yes. There's a valid argument, on this basis, to point fingers not at any individual but at those who voted for the change; the Partners.
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JammyKing | 26-Jan-2011 10:16 am
I don't think people fully understand service outsourcing, to be honest if someone offered you the oppurtunity to do more for less then would you not take it?
I understand people losing their jobs is sad in any case but the machine is bigger than the people working within it. The capitalist view for business in these times is survival. Cost cutting today is a way to increase profit margins like it or not.
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Anonymous | 26-Jan-2011 1:41 pm
why does a recent article about dickinson dees redundancy focus on "madam guillotine" etc and the human impact/inseneitivity, yet this one about camerons is all about the bottom line and the "business improvement" angle...
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gatsby | 26-Jan-2011 4:01 pm
Nice comment, well made Anonymous | 26-Jan-2011 9:59 am.....
...or should we say Duncan
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Anonymous | 27-Jan-2011 4:21 pm
Camerons is a business not a charity. If they can deliver the same level of service to their clients (or better) by outsourcing / making redundancies then it makes sense for them to do so. If that delivers increased profit to the partners who own the business then so be it. Thats capitalism and this is not North Korea. Is this strategy (outsourcing) wise, however, given the generally poor expierience most people have with outsourcing? It may save some money but will it damage their brand? We'll be watching with interest.
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Anonymous | 27-Jan-2011 4:55 pm
To anonymous - 4.21pm.
Of course the partners at Cameron's can do whatever they like, and of course that is capitalism. But that is not the issue. Indeed the point you make is mundane, trite, at best.
At some point, as a matter of human values and ethics, one considers the lives and well-being of those who work for you - not just your own pockets. To the extent one treats human beings as mere instrumentalities, one becomes no more than an ruthless carnivore (animals however are better on the ethics scale - they make no pretense).
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