Fran Foo | November 20, 2008
AN EDS Australia employee attempted to take his own life at work after he was told he had lost his job.
Sources said authorities were informed after the incident took place earlier this week.
An EDS spokeswoman said: "We regrettably confirm that an incident took place at one of our sites on Monday, November 17, involving an employee of EDS Australia who had been notified of redundancy."
Hewlett-Packard's acquisition of EDS will result in several hundred local workers, or around 7.5 per cent of the combined workforce, losing their jobs over the next three years.
"The employee in question was taken to hospital for evaluation, and his family was immediately notified of the situation," the spokeswoman said. "EDS also took immediate measures to deal with the impact on employees and teams on site.
"We do understand this is a very difficult time for our employees and are doing the best we can to deal with the situation responsibly, promptly and compassionately.
"We are asking people to respect the privacy of the employee in question to allow him to recuperate in private with his family and friends."
The spokeswoman said EDS was doing everything it could to assist the employee's family, as well as his colleagues at this difficult time.
"We wish our colleague a full and quick recovery," she said.
EDS had 3597 employees for the 12 months ending December 31, 2007, according to documents filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). HP said it employed 2464 people to the year ending October 31, 2007.
Last month, the IT services firm retrenched 75 workers.