Unions demand urgent meeting with British Gas over plan to cut 4,000 jobs

The Unite union on Thursday called for urgent meeting with British Gas after the company said it was planning more than 4,000 job cuts.

In a statement, the Union said it wanted to know why the company planned so many job losses despite parent company Centrica making 2017 profits of £1.25bn.

Centrica chief executive Iain Conn earlier on Thursday said falling customer numbers and a planned pricing cap by the government meant the company had to cut costs to maintain profitability.

Unite regional coordinating officer Paresh Patel said centrica's plan “needs to be put under the microscope”.

“These still large profits indicate that the company’s strategy is weighed towards dividends for shareholders at the expense of workers’ jobs. And I am sure that the highly remunerated directors won’t be taking a hit to their fat pay cheques,” Patel said.

“Unite will be asking for an urgent meeting with British Gas management to hear the business case in detail for these job losses – the company has not been clear where these cuts will take place.”

“Unite represents about 300 British Gas field engineers across the UK and we will want to know how our members’ jobs may be impacted by today’s statement.

Patel rejected Conn's argument, saying workers should not pay with their jobs because of such a proposal.

“Furthermore, given the below inflation pay rises during the past few years and, despite the commitment by the company to preserve jobs, this is another slap in the face for workers at British Gas/Centrica,” Patel said.