Hundreds face redundancy as Virgin and Yell look to axe 2,500 jobs (From Daily Echo)

Hundreds face redundancy as Virgin and Yell look to axe 2,500 jobs

2:00pm Wednesday 12th November 2008 in News By Gareth Lewis, Business Editor

Virgin Media

HUNDREDS of Hampshire workers are facing redundancy with cable giant Virgin Media and yellow pages directories firm Yell both announcing sweeping restructures.

Hampshire based cable group Virgin Media said last night that it was axing around 2,200 UK jobs by 2012 under a dramatic restructuring plan.

The announcement followed an earlier one by advertising firm Yell, which has an office in Grosvenor Square, Southampton, warning they expect to shed 1,300 jobs from the business over the coming year.

Virgin Media, which is based at Hook, north Hampshire, said it would not start cutting jobs until the fourth quarter of next year, with the majority of the role reductions taking place before the end of 2010.

It is another blow for workers of the troubled telecoms firm, which has already shed about 4,000 staff since the merger of Telewest and ntl that formed the company in 2006.

The Communication Workers Union said it was “shocked and disappointed’’ at the job losses.

Virgin Media has 76 offices across the UK and said it was unclear at this stage which locations or departments would be affected by the move.

The job losses – about 15 per cent of Virgin Media’s workforce – form part of annual cost savings of more than £120m by 2012.

Neil Berkett, chief executive of Virgin Media, said: “We recognise that this brings with it significant uncertainty for our people and the communities where they work. Throughout the process, we will be communicating as early and openly as we can.’’ The group added it would look to avoid redundancies and offer staff alternative roles where possible.

Southampton staff of Yell have also seen major losses recently, with the directory business axeing a similar number to the 1,300 announced yesterday in the last year.

Reading based Yell said it hoped the majority of the new job losses could be achieved by non-replacement of departing staff. The owner of Yellow Book in the United States and Spain’s Yell Publicidad employed 13,900 people in September.

Chief executive John Condron said the job cuts were in readiness for continued tough trading conditions.

He added: “Global economic trends show no sign of improving; therefore, we are actively working on further cost reduction programmes that will primarily benefit next year.”

Andy Kerr, deputy general secretary of the Communication Workers Union, said he had met with Yell to discuss the cuts.

He said: “While job losses are always a last resort, CWU and Yell are jointly committed to achieving these job reductions by the use of the recently-agreed restructuring policy, which emphasises the use of voluntary redundancy and redeployment.’’ Dave Johnson, national official with responsibility for Yell members, said: “All parties are committed to handling the consultation process as quickly as possible in order to minimise uncertainty. This will allow for regular and timely communication with those affected.’’ Yell reported a six per cent rise in halfyear revenues to £1.03 billion and pre-tax profits of £118m, against £121m a year earlier.