Altech claims job cuts won't hit channel partners

Altech is cutting jobs but the distributor said these would not directly affect channel partners, managing director Antony Sheen has told CRN.

Sheen said 21 employees were made redundant as a result of improved processes. Other reports have suggested the cuts were as high as 50.

"I believe we decreased fewer than 10 casual people and we made 11 permanent staff redundant. The majority are from warehouse and service departments," he said.

Altech currently employs more than 150 people, Sheen said.

The cuts will have "no change at all" to the level of service Altech delivers to its partners, Sheen told CRN.

Peter Brady, channel sales manager of Altech partner Kaspersky, told CRN: "It's business as usual for us. We haven't been affected"."

Another Altech vendor, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said "nothing has changed".

"All of the product managers that look after our account are still there."

Altech's Sheen said the cuts were the result of improved efficiencies brought about by a change in its back-end systems to Microsoft's .NET.

"We don’t need as many people in warehouse and service as we used to. That has already helped to cut down big costs of running our warehouses," he added.

The upgrades to its infrastructure, which will "continue for another year at least," will help the company deliver a better online experience for customers, Sheen said.