Due to contract with ICE: IT consulting group Capgemini divests US subsidiary
The units of ICE have been criticized for their actions for weeks. Now the French IT consulting group Capgemini is drawing consequences.
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The large IT consulting group Capgemini from France wants to divest a US subsidiary as quickly as possible, which closely cooperates with the US immigration authority ICE (“Immigration and Customs Enforcement”), whose units have been heavily criticized for weeks. In a statement over the weekend, it is stated that the usual legal restrictions for contracts with the US government ensure that Capgemini cannot adequately control the subsidiary Capgemini Government Solutions, “to ensure alignment with the group's objectives.” Therefore, the divestiture of the business unit will be initiated immediately.
Too little influence from the corporate headquarters
Capgemini is one of the largest groups in France, with over 340,000 employees worldwide generating a turnover of 22 billion euros. The US subsidiary, which has now come into public focus, contributes less than two percent to this, the group explains. A few days earlier, Capgemini CEO Aiman Ezzat explained on LinkedIn that special regulations apply to this subsidiary so that it can work with secret documents for the US government. Therefore, the businesses are strictly separated and important decision-making processes are not controllable by the French headquarters. Ezzat assured that the US subsidiary would review its contracts with the US government. Over the weekend, Capgemini then pulled the plug.
Videos by heise
Units of ICE have been implementing US President Donald Trump's deportation policy for weeks with brutal methods and martial raids. In the process, they have already killed several people. The numerous video recordings of the fatal shots at Renée Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis caused widespread horror. Against this background, a contract of the US subsidiary of Capgemini in France, which concerned the technology for identifying tens of thousands of immigrants per month, was criticized, the Washington Post reported. Capgemini subsequently explained that the contract would no longer be executed. Due to the limited influence of the French headquarters on this, it is now cutting ties.
(mho)
