The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
North East; Northumberland and Tyne and Wear; Tyneside
Location of affected unit(s)
Newcastle
Sector
Financial Services Financial And Insurance Activities Financial Service Activities, Except Insurance And Pension Funding 64.1 - Monetary intermediation
New offshoring locations
1,000 jobs Number of planned job losses
Announcement Date
30 October 2003
Employment effect (start)
Foreseen end date
Description
On 31 October 2003, Lloyds TSB, UK bank employing 79,000 people, announced that it would close its call centre in Newcastle, which employed 986 people, and sub-contract the jobs to its new centre in Hyderabad, India. On 18 December 2003, after months of negotiations and threats of strike by the unions, the bank has promised to offer a job to anyone at the call centre who wanted to stay with the bank. On 10 June 2004, Lloyds TSB has set a date for the closure of its Newcastle call centre, then putting 960 roles at risk. The Lloyds TSB Group Union said that even though the bank had been making efforts to redeploy staff, almost half of those affected had not been found alternative jobs. Lloyds TSB disputed the union's claims and said that it had made an agreement with another union, Unifi, in which it pledged to offer a job to staff wanting to stay in the group and a £2,000 grant for those who left as a result of their job transferring offshore. The 1,000 jobs were shed at Lloyds' Newcastle call centre as a result of the bank's decision to move the work to India. The call centre was expected to be closed by the end of the August 2004. The high street bank has finally closed its Tyneside call centre at the end of November 2004 with the loss of almost 1,000 jobs. Lloyds TSB caused controversy with its decision to axe its Newcastle site and export 960 jobs to India.
Sources
17 August 2004: The Guardian
31 October 2003: The Guardian
18 December 2003: The Guardian
10 June 2004: The Guardian
Citation
Eurofound (2003), Lloyds TSB, Offshoring/Delocalisation in United Kingdom, factsheet number 59409, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/59409.
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