City law firm set to sacrifice jobs in outsourcing move

LAW firm DLA Piper is preparing to axe 200 business support professional roles in the UK – including 23 in Birmingham.

The jobs, which comprise 18% of the firm’s business support operation, look likely to be sacrificed in a move to outsource operations to Poland.

Reports in the legal press say the cuts follow a review of the firm’s operations and the move to set up a global shared services centre in Warsaw.

Staff affected by the move are based in the firm’s finance, human resources, marketing and business development, and secretarial teams. Consultations are now under way.

In Yorkshire, 85 people are being consulted, with a further 33 jobs in the North West.

Andrew Darwin, DLA chief operating officer, said in a statement: “The firm has grown rapidly over the past decade and many of our systems and processes reflect the history of the firm rather than its future.

“It is a key part of our strategy to modernise our business service functions in order to operate more effectively on a global basis and improve the quality, consistency and efficiency of the way we deliver our services to our clients.

“Until the consultation is completed, we will not be making any final decisions, and we will be actively supporting our people during this process.”

The consultation will start on May 31 to be completed by the end of July.