Virgin Media rejigs office locations

US-owned cable broadband operator Virgin Media plans to close a call centre in Swansea and Nottingham and two more as it halves the number of offices but upgrades facilities there.

Virgin Media said in the announcement it would be cutting jobs in a move to restructure the business to provide fewer but higher-quality workplaces. The Swansea centre, which employs almost 800 staff, shut down will be followed by site in Nottingham in the next two years.

The move involves the reduction of customer operations centres from eight to four. The company is investing £40m in business property over the next three years.

"We will be increasing our presence in Wythenshawe, near Manchester, and refurbishing that site. We also propose acquiring a major new building in the Reading/M4 corridor area for our people presently based in Hook, Langley, Slough and Winnersh. We also plan to acquire smaller, better sites in Bellshill and Nottingham," said the company.

As for the 792 Swansea employees at risk, some are being transferred to Manchester the company said.

"We are now working with and supporting all employees who have been asked to relocate, who may be in a role at risk of redundancy or who may wish to take another role with Virgin Media or one of our partners,” assured the company’s CEO Tom Mockridge.

The Welsh Government said it would support affected workers. Swansea West MP Geraint Davies called the close "a catastrophe", and said: "It's a big blow for Swansea and means we need to work twice as hard to get more inward investment and get more jobs."