| NCR announced in March it was axing 252 jobs in the face of the “unprecedented contraction in the global economy” — but it has now emerged that more than a third of these are expected to go at the huge R&D building on Kingsway West.
The jobs announcement coincided with the company’s decision to end manufacturing and it had been thought that the vast bulk of the at-risk posts related to that side of the business.
However, a company insider said there is growing nervousness amongst staff at the Discovery Centre — where 450 are currently employed — who are concerned that the redundancies may just be the start of a trickle of cuts that could develop into a haemorrhage, in much the same way that led to the demise of the manufacturing arm.
Adding to staff unease is the fact that much of the decision-making is now being made in NCR’s native USA.
NCR’s retail side in the US has long had a strained working relationship with managers in Dundee, but the diminution of ATM production at the Gourdie factory is being seen as giving America the whip hand.
The company source said, “We’re being asked to take down the head count in Dundee because the business has to become smaller to balance the books.
“Some people are worried that some software development work will be transferred to other countries, possibly India, and that Dundee could be further diminished by the drip, drip of jobs away from the city.
“Nowadays, it seems that there isn’t as much of a social conscience governing things as there might have been in the past and that, maybe understandably given the economic conditions, business decisions have to be very hard-nosed.
“Certainly, the people in the US are very focused on the bottom line and there’s a feeling that if they could reduce costs by shipping R&D jobs elsewhere, they would.”
India is just one market where there are well-educated and talented software writers and designers who could do some of the work currently taking place in Dundee for much less cost.
However, several obstacles stand in NCR’s way if it were to decide that the Discovery Centre operation should be scaled down even further from its present level.
Chief amongst these is the issue of security.
Cash dispensing machines must work faultlessly all the time and a high degree of trust must exist between the bank and the manufacturer concerning the security of the ATM operating system.
NCR has around 500 banking customers and has to work closely with them when developing ATM machines. Some NCR customers are known to be wary of having ATM software written in countries such as China and to a lesser extent India because of fears that “bugs” could be left in the system that could compromise the security of the ATM functions.
Dundee has been the number one supplier of ATMs worldwide for more than 30 years and has a considerable reputation in an industry in which NCR has proved over and over again the reliability and security of its machines and the integrity of its software writers.
“I think a lot of banks would resist attempts to shift software development to some overseas companies,” our source said.
“However, they ultimately have to pay for it so if there was a big saving to be made they might be persuaded to look at it. Fortunately, there are really only two players in the ATM world — NCR and a German company and it’s very difficult for anyone else to try to break into the market because of the close working relationship that has to exist with customers.”
Another factor in Dundee’s favour is the support it has long enjoyed with Government enterprise bodies in Scotland. A strong relationship has built up over the decades and there is said to be a real desire at the Scottish Government to ensure that the company has a future in the city.
Despite these strengths, doubt about NCR’s future role in Dundee’s diminishing industrial sector remains in the minds of some of the key personnel at the Discovery Centre.
NCR was asked by the Tele if there were any plans to cut more jobs at the R&D facility but a spokesman said no further reductions beyond the 252 announced in March were proposed. Consultations were continuing amongst Discovery Centre staff with a view to achieving the 75 redundancies sought.
Asked if the company could give an assurance about NCR’s operation in Dundee, a spokesman said, “Dundee is a major centre for NCR and we will continue to resource our business in line with business demand and operational need.”
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