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13 per cent of Southampton workforce to be axed in £20m cost cutting

NEW HOME: Building work on the new OS Hillyfields base. NEW HOME: Building work on the new OS Hillyfields base.

ONE of Southampton’s flagship employers was today set to announce 180 job losses.

Mapping agency Ordnance Survey is shedding 13 per cent of its work force as part of moves to slash costs by up to £20m.

Negotiations over the voluntary redundancies have been running since July – but staff who made applications are now being made aware of the outcome.

As previously reported, about 50 per cent of the agency’s running costs are down to staffing.

Bosses need to make five per cent savings annually for five years to reach their cost-cutting goal.

The money saved will allow OS to give away mapping information to charities and community groups like the Scouts for use on their websites and to reduce charges for businesses to use the service.

The 1,400-strong workforce, including 1,000 at the Romsey Road site, was told of the plan to cut costs in January this year and boss Vanessa Lawrence warned then that redundancies could not be ruled out.

Work on the agency’s £45m new headquarters next to the M271 on the edge of the city is still progressing.

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OS bosses say they received more applications for voluntary redundancy than were finally accepted. The terms of the redundancy have not been revealed.

They have not ruled out further cost-reduction measures as part of their five-year savings scheme – but it is not yet clear whether that means more job cuts.

An agency spokesman said: “The announcement was driven by Ordnance Survey’s commitment to reducing costs and improving efficiency.’’ The Prospect Union which represents the workers refused to comment.

Comments(32)

southy says...
11:44am Fri 9 Oct 09

and the recession just got that little bit deeper. wonder how much longer before people relise that capitilism will not work in a modern word

Brite Spark says...
12:00pm Fri 9 Oct 09

Well done Southy, you skillfully avoided the Red Funnel story (you must be an officer) but still had a dig at capitalism here.

I am pleased that Echo journo Julian Robertson looks so delighted at these redundancies.

southy says...
12:02pm Fri 9 Oct 09

yes he do a little bit to cheerful.

Ken Hutchinson says...
12:06pm Fri 9 Oct 09

southy wrote:
and the recession just got that little bit deeper. wonder how much longer before people relise that capitilism will not work in a modern word
and certain brands of Socialism have been a roaring success throughout the ages.........don't fancy queueing for bread do you?

southy says...
12:17pm Fri 9 Oct 09

Ken Hutchinson wrote:
southy wrote:
and the recession just got that little bit deeper. wonder how much longer before people relise that capitilism will not work in a modern word
and certain brands of Socialism have been a roaring success throughout the ages.........don't fancy queueing for bread do you?
just the same way there was que's for bread in a capitalism country.
socialism only been tired out in the last 100 years, its new, unlike capitalism been around for 1000's of years and still can get it right.

southy says...
12:19pm Fri 9 Oct 09

oh p.s. ken hutchinson those cueing for bread in russia it was caused by the capitalist world having a trade embargo, on communist and socialist countrys.

Ken Hutchinson says...
12:23pm Fri 9 Oct 09

southy wrote:
oh p.s. ken hutchinson those cueing for bread in russia it was caused by the capitalist world having a trade embargo, on communist and socialist countrys.
What a load of old pants Southy

OSemployee says...
12:34pm Fri 9 Oct 09

Q U E U E

southy says...
12:42pm Fri 9 Oct 09

Ken Hutchinson wrote:
southy wrote:
oh p.s. ken hutchinson those cueing for bread in russia it was caused by the capitalist world having a trade embargo, on communist and socialist countrys.
What a load of old pants Southy
no fact, the usa put a trade embargo on russia and ask well more of a case told the rest of the world to follow suit. and has other country turned socialist or communist a trade embargo went on them to. just plain old cold fact, read your history books.

veracity says...
12:57pm Fri 9 Oct 09

southy wrote:
oh p.s. ken hutchinson those cueing for bread in russia it was caused by the capitalist world having a trade embargo, on communist and socialist countrys.
southy keeps on telling people to 'read there books' but in other p[osts says...'dont belive what you read in books its experience that counts...
tell me how a so-called trade embago caused a bread shhortage in russia when they had some of the largext wheat fields in the world?

Ken Hutchinson says...
12:57pm Fri 9 Oct 09

Sureley the majority of History books from respected Authors would differ from "The World According to Southy"......
security word: left-away (honestly)

southy says...
1:33pm Fri 9 Oct 09

veracity wrote:
southy wrote:
oh p.s. ken hutchinson those cueing for bread in russia it was caused by the capitalist world having a trade embargo, on communist and socialist countrys.
southy keeps on telling people to 'read there books' but in other p
a few bad short summers and early winters left the wheat production and surplus stock way be low there needs.

southy says...
1:44pm Fri 9 Oct 09

Ken Hutchinson wrote:
Sureley the majority of History books from respected Authors would differ from "The World According to Southy"......
security word: left-away (honestly)
respected authors differ from one and another, thats why you dont trust what one single book says but cross ref with has many has you can, and just because they are well known or how many books are sold dont make them respected, so you need to look at even the less well known authors.
like all of your so called respected authors will not tell you that, general patton fired the first shots that started the cold war, and general montgomery fired the second shot, and the thrid shot was done by the usa government, those 3 things are what triggard of the cold war, by what was said and done, you read books on what triggered the cold war they all avoid those facts, but it was caught on path news reel.

Condor Man says...
1:50pm Fri 9 Oct 09

southy wrote:
oh p.s. ken hutchinson those cueing for bread in russia it was caused by the capitalist world having a trade embargo, on communist and socialist countrys.
what tosh, bread queues were caused by poor planning by the so called party experts. Ask any vicitm of the soviet regime in Eastern Europe about the bad way farms were managed. A bit like the situation in Zimbabwe now. Though the Whites may not have had valid claim to the land they could farm a hell of a lot better than the natives - as the Boers did over the border.

As for the OS, they probably physically produce fewer maps now due to the use of IT.

Ken Hutchinson says...
2:19pm Fri 9 Oct 09

I know how this all pans out Southy....you keep replying with inaccuracy after inaccuracy until we all give up!

southy says...
2:20pm Fri 9 Oct 09

Condor Man wrote:
southy wrote:
oh p.s. ken hutchinson those cueing for bread in russia it was caused by the capitalist world having a trade embargo, on communist and socialist countrys.
what tosh, bread queues were caused by poor planning by the so called party experts. Ask any vicitm of the soviet regime in Eastern Europe about the bad way farms were managed. A bit like the situation in Zimbabwe now. Though the Whites may not have had valid claim to the land they could farm a hell of a lot better than the natives - as the Boers did over the border.

As for the OS, they probably physically produce fewer maps now due to the use of IT.
its not tosh, the weather though those few years even effected britian crops, but we had more rain whitch in turn rotted the ears/seeds of the cereal crop, but we had no trade embargo against us. so we was ok and never felt any effects.

any way i am off i have a radio interview this afternoon

Cyber-Fug says...
4:41pm Fri 9 Oct 09

southy wrote:
Ken Hutchinson wrote:
southy wrote:
and the recession just got that little bit deeper. wonder how much longer before people relise that capitilism will not work in a modern word
and certain brands of Socialism have been a roaring success throughout the ages.........don't fancy queueing for bread do you?
just the same way there was que's for bread in a capitalism country.
socialism only been tired out in the last 100 years, its new, unlike capitalism been around for 1000's of years and still can get it right.
maybe we should forget trying to better oursolves to provide for our families and aspire to be like the modern day socialists..... you know, like the millionaire Neil Kinnock and the millionaire Arthur Scargill ?

Southy on the Radio ? I didnt realise Hancocks Half Hour was still broadcasting !

Duncan Disorderly says...
6:01pm Fri 9 Oct 09

"Southy on the Radio ? I didnt realise Hancocks Half Hour was still broadcasting !"

Jackanory, perhaps?

southy says...
8:25pm Fri 9 Oct 09

there.s alot about me you really dont know.

use like that show fug

duncan isorderly, wheream i leave the jacknory storys to you duncan your much better at it than every one else, what your next name you going to use

Condor Man says...
8:53pm Fri 9 Oct 09

southy wrote:
there.s alot about me you really dont know. use like that show fug duncan isorderly, wheream i leave the jacknory storys to you duncan your much better at it than every one else, what your next name you going to use
I do know that your postings become more incoherant by the day. Fug is right, the likes of Kinnock and Scargill treated their followers like mugs whilst they lined their pockets. All through the miners strike Scargill lived like a king and as for Kinnock- the anti EU MP of 1975 became the EU commissioner when the voters rejected him and he and his awful wife lined their pockets off our endeavours. You have the mega rich Shaun Woodward and the joke that is Tony Benn. People continually reject socialism for these reasons.

southy says...
9:13pm Fri 9 Oct 09

if you done some cheking like going to a socialist meeting or two, you will find kinnock is not very well like, he was never a true socialist, liberist and a bit to the right but he was no left winger. and what you said about him and the eu about proves the point, i personaly dont go much scargill my self, but you got to give him his due, in what he said would happen did happen and he did not live like a king that was just propaganda,, he live on the same has what the miners had while they was on strike, the union paid for all union business, and that was all. benn you got to give him his due to, he done in what he belived in and throw away his peerage, and he still says the best thing we can do is get out of the eu, some thing else he all ways stuck to.
people have not rejected socialism, its just its not been there for them to vote for, i know to many people who voted for the torys back in 1979 now say they wish they have not done so, and are openly amitt it was there bigest error of all time,
if you look at the total number of votes ever since 1945 the labour party have had more people voted for them that the torys, and now days people vote for the labour party because its the lesser of the 2 evils.

Condor Man says...
10:09pm Fri 9 Oct 09

southy wrote:
if you done some cheking like going to a socialist meeting or two, you will find kinnock is not very well like, he was never a true socialist, liberist and a bit to the right but he was no left winger. and what you said about him and the eu about proves the point, i personaly dont go much scargill my self, but you got to give him his due, in what he said would happen did happen and he did not live like a king that was just propaganda,, he live on the same has what the miners had while they was on strike, the union paid for all union business, and that was all. benn you got to give him his due to, he done in what he belived in and throw away his peerage, and he still says the best thing we can do is get out of the eu, some thing else he all ways stuck to. people have not rejected socialism, its just its not been there for them to vote for, i know to many people who voted for the torys back in 1979 now say they wish they have not done so, and are openly amitt it was there bigest error of all time, if you look at the total number of votes ever since 1945 the labour party have had more people voted for them that the torys, and now days people vote for the labour party because its the lesser of the 2 evils.
not true, in 1992 John Major had the highest vote share in recent times, in 2005 Phoney Blair had the lowest.

I don't think anyone who managed to buy their own home regrets voting Tory, or the families (like mine) who had their income free'd up to send their children to University. Stop painting this utopian vision that the world's ills will be solved if everyone lives a collective existance based on subservience to oppressive leaders. Even Jesus acknowledged there would be inequalities on earth as there were in Roman times. He said that those who followed him would come first in the life to come- regardless of background but also said that lovers of money would come last. Dig out your Gideons from school and check it out.

southy says...
11:28pm Fri 9 Oct 09

no he did't, what he had was the highest number of people voting for him and the torys since 1979 and the highest number of seats won, like in 2005 labour had 35% share of the total votes while torys had 32% share of the total votes. whitch was different to the exit poll that said labour would have 37% and torys would have 33%, and the reason why there was a drop was because people had stop voting, another words if there was no real choice politics why bother voting, the number of people voting had drop in the biggest amount for a very long time, and only 52% of people able to vote voted whitch was a big difference from the election before where labour had 40% and torys 31%, it all depends where the boundry lines are for the constituency are at the time for an exple one area might have 100,000 people in it and another have 50,000 in it, maybe there should be a rethink on the boundry lines and make all areas nearly have the same number of voting people in it

southy says...
11:48pm Fri 9 Oct 09

theres a government web page you can go to if your a member to a political party, that give's the exact number of people that voted down to the last one, how many of them was a postal vote and if it was a vote coming in from aboard, and how many votes each party got and it also breaks it down to each constituency.

Condor Man says...
10:10am Sat 10 Oct 09

southy wrote:
theres a government web page you can go to if your a member to a political party, that give's the exact number of people that voted down to the last one, how many of them was a postal vote and if it was a vote coming in from aboard, and how many votes each party got and it also breaks it down to each constituency.
do you actually do any paid work or do you just sit at a PC all day trying to justify your moribund views?

freemantlegirl2 says...
10:22am Sat 10 Oct 09

"OS bosses say they received more applications for voluntary redundancy than were finally accepted. The terms of the redundancy have not been revealed."

Southy, you've all missed the point, no-one has actually 'lost' their job compulsorily, although it hasn't been ruled out in future that they will shed more staff, I'm assuming that people who asked for voluntary redundancy did so happily and received good packages. A friend's husband is hoping to take VR from OS and wants to set up his own business. Unless redundancies are compulsory this comes under the theme of restructuring.

"The money saved will allow OS to give away mapping information to charities and community groups like the Scouts for use on their websites and to reduce charges for businesses to use the service."

Sounds like good business sense to me and thinking long-term to the future. OS are having to compete with the likes of Google, so they have to remain competitive.

southy says...
10:57am Sat 10 Oct 09

Condor Man wrote:
southy wrote:
theres a government web page you can go to if your a member to a political party, that give's the exact number of people that voted down to the last one, how many of them was a postal vote and if it was a vote coming in from aboard, and how many votes each party got and it also breaks it down to each constituency.
do you actually do any paid work or do you just sit at a PC all day trying to justify your moribund views?
i have no need to do any paid work i earned my money, and do not need to worrie, and has i am not a greedy person i let the next man have a chance to earn some money, what i do mostly now days is answer a load questions by e-mail on rigging problems normaly free of charge.

southy says...
11:19am Sat 10 Oct 09

freemantle the point is the job loses, even lo they got volunteers to take the redundancy thats still 180 job loses. no longer on the job market and at any time in a recession any job lost will deepen a recession, and prolong it.

and like i been saying, we need a total rethink on things, has technology becomes better and improves the work place, and becomes fully automated, so this means that will be less people having jobs, the people on the ground doing this work, are not benefiting they are having to do more hours just to stay at the same level of pay, whats going to happen when the work places are fully automated and only need one or two people to do all the work that use to take 100's of people to do, exstreamly few people are going to be able to buy there goods, because most will not have money to buy the goods, then what happens the company go's bankrupt, because they made goods that nobody can buy, this is long term thinking. (when i say this i talking about all companys and not just the o/s).
and if office workers think they be ok, think again there is a guy working out a computer program that can do all the office work, by one man, and all he will need to do is just start the program working after that he will not be needed, apart from sitting down and watching it run.

goard says...
3:12pm Sat 10 Oct 09

Southy - you talk sense but most of us instinctively believe what we want to believe - nevetheless - you can quote facts and figures which I am sure true - BUT we are now in the MODERN WORLD a world totally different to what we were once use to - we have yet to live in this modern world - believe me it can be a hellish world, our youngsters have a lot to learn.

goard

B. L. says...
6:47pm Sat 10 Oct 09

goard wrote:
Southy - you talk sense but most of us instinctively believe what we want to believe - nevetheless - you can quote facts and figures which I am sure true - BUT we are now in the MODERN WORLD a world totally different to what we were once use to - we have yet to live in this modern world - believe me it can be a hellish world, our youngsters have a lot to learn.

goard
Tell me you are joking with that sweeping statement. Talk sense ? Quote facts and figures which you are sure is true ? You really need to cut back on the medication if you believe that. Sorry, I have respect for southy when he talks about certain subjects that he is obviously knowledgeable about, but that is not EVERY subject. Some of the stuff he comes out with on his postings, especially his world according to socialism, are just unbelievable and very flawed. I hope he doesn't stop posting though, it's major entertainment value with the banter it promotes. LOL lots.

southy says...
7:46pm Sat 10 Oct 09

springfield take note of another part, ""instinctively believe what we want to believe "" maybe many people should take a look at there selfs, and look back and see, what they been reading like in the newspapers and what newspapers, and the news on tv and see who supplyed the news, most news comes though murdock media empire, its his empire that controls 90% of the news that you hear or read

B. L. says...
4:34pm Mon 12 Oct 09

southy wrote:
springfield take note of another part, ""instinctively believe what we want to believe "" maybe many people should take a look at there selfs, and look back and see, what they been reading like in the newspapers and what newspapers, and the news on tv and see who supplyed the news, most news comes though murdock media empire, its his empire that controls 90% of the news that you hear or read
What are you talking about ?

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