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| Tesco staff 'shocked' as call centre closure puts 1,100 jobs at risk | Tesco staff 'shocked' as call centre closure puts 1,100 jobs at risk |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Tesco is to close a call centre in Cardiff, putting 1,100 jobs at risk. | Tesco is to close a call centre in Cardiff, putting 1,100 jobs at risk. |
| The supermarket chain said that early next year it would be closing one of its two call centres, which handles customer emails, social media inquiries and phone calls. About 250 jobs will be created in the group’s other call centre, in Dundee, which will now handle all customer queries. Workers from Cardiff will be offered work there but few are expected to move. | |
| Nick Ireland, the divisional officer of Usdaw, the shopworkers’ trade union, said workers in Cardiff were “understandably shocked” by the announcement. | |
| “This is clearly devastating news for our members and will have a wider impact on south Wales, as so many jobs are potentially lost to our local economy. | “This is clearly devastating news for our members and will have a wider impact on south Wales, as so many jobs are potentially lost to our local economy. |
| “We will now enter into consultation talks with the company over the coming weeks to look at the business case for the proposed closure. Our priorities are to keep as many members as possible in employment, whether that is with Tesco or other local employers, and to get the best possible deal for our members.” | “We will now enter into consultation talks with the company over the coming weeks to look at the business case for the proposed closure. Our priorities are to keep as many members as possible in employment, whether that is with Tesco or other local employers, and to get the best possible deal for our members.” |
| Matt Davies, the UK chief executive of Tesco, said: “The retail sector is facing unprecedented challenges and we must ensure we run our business in a sustainable and cost-effective way, while meeting the changing needs of our customers. | Matt Davies, the UK chief executive of Tesco, said: “The retail sector is facing unprecedented challenges and we must ensure we run our business in a sustainable and cost-effective way, while meeting the changing needs of our customers. |
| “To help us achieve this, we’ve taken the difficult decision to close our customer service operations in Cardiff. | “To help us achieve this, we’ve taken the difficult decision to close our customer service operations in Cardiff. |
| “We realise this will have a significant effect on colleagues in the Cardiff area, and our priority now is to continue to do all we can to support them at this time.” | “We realise this will have a significant effect on colleagues in the Cardiff area, and our priority now is to continue to do all we can to support them at this time.” |
| The cuts at Tesco are the latest in a string of cutbacks implemented as part of a turnaround plan led by the group chief executive, Dave Lewis, who joined in autumn 2014. | |
| In his first year in charge he axed nearly 5,000 head office and UK store management jobs as well as more than 4,000 roles overseas and at the group’s banking division. More than 2,500 jobs were lost with the closure of 48 underperforming Tesco stores, while in April 3,000 jobs were put at risk when the chain cut night shifts for shelf stackers in some of its biggest supermarkets. | In his first year in charge he axed nearly 5,000 head office and UK store management jobs as well as more than 4,000 roles overseas and at the group’s banking division. More than 2,500 jobs were lost with the closure of 48 underperforming Tesco stores, while in April 3,000 jobs were put at risk when the chain cut night shifts for shelf stackers in some of its biggest supermarkets. |
| The announcement of the job cuts came a day after call centres were inundated with customer complaints following an IT glitch that hit up to 10% of online grocery orders. | |
| On Wednesday, Tesco Bank customers were unable to access online banking for several hours after another IT issue. Customer queries for the bank are handled by a separate operation from those in Cardiff and Dundee. | |
| Tesco Bank said: “We are working hard to resolve this and apologise to customers for any inconvenience this may cause.” |