Type
Closure
Country
United Kingdom
Region
South East; Hampshire and Isle of Wight; Southampton
Location of affected unit(s)
Sector
Administrative Services
Office Administrative, Office Support And Other Business Support Activities
Activities Of Call Centres
82.2 - Activities of call centres

500 - 550 jobs
Number of planned job losses
Job loss
Announcement Date
23 April 2012
Employment effect (start)
1 August 2012
Foreseen end date
30 November 2012

Description

The energy firm, British Gas, has announced that it is to close its call centre in Southampton with the loss of 500 jobs. The company identified that customers were making increasing use of the internet and did not need to speak to call centre agents about their bills.

The company announced that it hopes to move 50 roles to another local site, but that the remaining 500 jobs would be lost through compulsory redundancies.

There is no information on the timeline for the job reductions thus far.

UPDATE 23 July 2012: The company announced that 140 employees will leave in August and the remaining staff will be made redundant by the end of November. 40 employees will be transfered to a nearby plant of Chandler's Ford. The company will consider redemployment and alternative employment opportunities.


Sources

  • 22 April 2012: The Telegraph
  • 23 July 2012: BBC News

Citation

Eurofound (2012), British Gas, Closure in United Kingdom, factsheet number 73510, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/73510.