Fujitsu has confirmed plans to wind down its Irish operation.
The Japanese IT services giant, which has significant contracts with public sector organisations in Ireland, will maintain just a skeleton staff as it shutters its Irish arm.
An internal email, seen by Computer Weekly, said the decision followed a review of the business performance and outlook in Ireland.
“It is with regret that we have taken a difficult decision and plan not to pursue new business in the Irish office,” Fujitsu's UK and Ireland boss Anwen Owen said in the email.
“Going forward, Fujitsu plans to refocus its Irish operations on the fulfilment of existing customer contractual commitments.”
In a statement to breakingnews.ie, the company confirmed: “Following a thorough review of the business performance and market outlook in Ireland, and in alignment with Fujitsu’s global strategic direction, it is with regret that Fujitsu does not plan to pursue new business in the Irish market.”
The statement added the plans are “subject to consultation with employee representatives, and Fujitsu will be providing support for all those affected in the coming months”.
The decision, first reported by technology news site The Register, comes as the company finds itself embroiled in controversy in the UK over its role in the Post Office accounting scandal.
Hundreds of subpostmasters across the UK were wrongly prosecuted between 1999 and 2015 after Fujitsu’s faulty accounting system made it seem as though money was missing from their branches.
In 2019, the High Court in London ruled that the software had contained “bugs, errors and defects”, leading the scandal to become known as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British history.
Scrutiny of Fujitsu has intensified in recent months after the saga was dramatised in ITV’s Mr Bates Vs The Post Office.
Fujitsu has offered its “deepest apologies” to victims of the scandal and said it would contribute towards compensation payments for those wrongly convicted.
