Centrica's British Gas to cut nearly 700 jobs, close Oldbury office

Centrica’s British Gas has announced a proposal to cut 684 office-based roles, including the closure of its Oldbury office, as it looks to consolidate operations on fewer sites.

As part of a full consultation process over the next 45 days, the company will discuss the proposals and seek the views of employees and their representatives.

If the closure of the Oldbury office is confirmed, British Gas Services would explore redeployment opportunities for people whose roles are affected.

Claire Miles, managing director of Customer Operations, said: “Since last summer British Gas has been implementing a strategy to improve service and reduce costs, to ensure we can price competitively. We must also respond to the changing needs of our customers, and they increasingly want to contact us online.

“For these reasons we are planning to consolidate our activity on fewer sites, and we have made the difficult decision to propose closing our Oldbury office and call centre.”

Earlier this week, Centrica said it expected to axe 3,000 jobs this year as part of its cost-cutting plans, as it reported a 1.5% drop in home energy supply accounts in the first quarter.

At 1230 BST, Centrica shares were down 0.7% to 235.70p.