British Gas owner to cut 1,300 jobs over two years in major overhaul

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British Gas owner Centrica has announced plans to axe 1,300 jobs over the next two years.

The energy supplier said a further 800 jobs would go on top of 500 role cuts announced last month as part of efforts to overhaul its customer services and support teams.

Proposals involve the reduction of around 500 contact-based jobs in its customer operations team, alongside additional cuts to offshore outsourced support jobs.

This will lead to an approximately 14 per cent reduction in the company’s customer operations workforce.

Additionally, it is proposing to reduce roles within its group support functions in a bid to make them more efficient.

Centrica has bought a gas-fired power station in Wales for £370 million (Owen Humphreys/PA) (PA)

This overhaul is a response to structural changes in customer behaviour, with customer contact falling sharply as around 90 per cent opt to use digital methods of support, according to Centrica.

“We have been transforming the business for a number of years to ensure we have the right roles in the right places for the future,” a spokesperson said.

“This means making changes to improve efficiency, drive commercial performance and give our customers the service they want.

“At the same time, we continue to invest in the skills where there is demand, including recruiting more engineers to meet growing demand and hiring 500 apprentices this year alone.”