CENTRICA TO CUT 1,300 JOBS OVER TWO YEARS

Centrica, the British Gas owner, plans to cut 1,300 jobs over the next two years as part of a restructuring programme. The energy supplier announced 800 additional redundancies on top of 500 role cuts announced the previous month. Around 500 of the new cuts will affect contact-based positions in its customer operations team, with further reductions to offshore outsourced support roles. The company also proposes to reduce roles within its group support functions to improve efficiency.

The redundancies will represent approximately a 14 per cent reduction in Centrica's customer operations workforce. According to the company, the restructuring responds to shifts in customer behaviour, with around 90 per cent of customers opting to use digital support methods rather than contact-based channels. A Centrica spokesperson said the overhaul aims to ensure the business has "the right roles in the right places for the future" and to improve efficiency and commercial performance. The company stated it continues to invest in areas where demand exists, including recruiting engineers and hiring 500 apprentices during the current year.

Centrica has described the job cuts as part of an ongoing transformation programme. The company characterised the changes as necessary to align its operations with evolving customer preferences and to maintain competitive performance. The redundancies will be implemented across customer operations and group support functions over a 24-month period.