ICL to axe 1,500

Computer services group ICL announced plans today for 1,500 Christmas redundancies in a move likely to hit hard in the South-East.

The Japanese- owned group has asked its 11,500-strong British workforce to come forward for voluntary redundancies but admitted it could not rule out compulsory job cuts.

The news comes as the Government said jobless figures had risen in October by 4,800 to 959,000, while earnings increased by 0.1 per cent.