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Fujitsu loses Dimes amid plans to save dollars

UK and Ireland boss nowhere to be seen

Exclusive UK and Ireland boss of Fujitsu, Lucy Dimes, has gone on gardening leave just one year into the job, according to multiple well-placed sources.

Dimes began her absence at the end of May and has not been seen since. A spokesman from Fujitsu confirmed she is on “a period of extended leave for personal reasons”. However, insiders have told The Register that she will not be returning to the company.

One source said no one has been told where she’s gone. “Some have heard that she’s on sick leave, some have heard gardening leave. Either way, when we ask senior management who will sign off on stuff her name is never mentioned.”

Dimes took the helm as Fujitsu’s chief exec of UK & Ireland in June last year, heading up the £1.8bn revenue business which employs 14,000 people in the region. Announcing her appointment, Fujitsu said Dimes would focus on “driving growth across UK private and public sectors”.

Prior to joining Fujitsu, she was chief operating officer of tech business and chief exec at Alcatel-Lucent, following a 16-year career at BT.

Her tenure at the company coincides with a major jobs-cutting programme, with 1,800 roles from the British division being cut throughout the rest of this year and into next.

Fujitsu has been criticised by the union Unite for making the cuts, having turned over profits of £86.5m last year. However, the firm’s UK and Ireland chair Michael Keegan told The Register its president has said the return on sales should be 10 per cent – suggesting the firm needs to double its profits.

In April, Unite wrote to Japan’s ambassador to the UK, asking him to intervene in the long-running dispute. It has not had a reply.

Unite has currently suspended its latest wave of strike action against Fujitsu. ®

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