The new structure of the combined ECS and
Econocom business has been unveiled in France today (10
January).
Econocom will be the name used for all parts
of the business except for systems servicing and maintenance, which
keeps the ECS moniker.
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A number of redundancies will be made in
support functions such as IT and management.
Jean-Louis Bouchard, chairman, said: “A normal
attrition rate of about 15 percent a year means that a hiring
freeze would probably be enough to reduce the headcount by 100 to
150; we stopped hiring in summer 2010. We have almost finished the
process of merging.”
Integration has been easier in countries where
one or other business was demonstrably stronger: for example in
Belgium, Econocom employs 500 people compared to ECS’ office of 35,
while in Italy, ECS has a team of 240 compared to Econocom’s
30.
“We will merge some offices on the basis where
are we the best,” Bouchard said. The combined group will have 2,300
employees in France and 1,600 in other territories.
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By GlobalDataBouchard said: “By the end of 2011 it’s going
to be a brand new company, conquering new horizons. The IT market
is changing rapidly and leasing needs to adapt. People are working
anytime, anywhere. In the next five to 10 years, the challenge is
to deliver and lease all types of ICT. We used only to have
computers, now we have intelligent objects – computers in cars,
printers, classrooms.”
The agreement for Econocom to acquire ECS from
Société Générale was finalised in October 2010. The restructure
follows an intense period of strategic review involving 10
workshops and 19 focus groups across the business.
Bouchard originally founded ECS in 1974 and 10
years later sold it to SG, before moving on to establish Econocom.
ECS had developed in leasing and infrastructure, whereas Econocom
became stronger in procurement and desktop computers /
telecoms.
A full interview with Jean-Louis Bouchard
will appear in the February edition of Leasing Life.
