Management and security jobs threat at shopping centres Bullring and Grand Central cost cutting
SECURITY and management contractors working at Birmingham’s two largest shopping centres have been told to slash their operating costs as they gear up for the busiest period of the year.
Hammerson, which co-owns and manages the Bullring and Grand Central, has instructed both VSG and ABM to reduce their operating costs across areas such as staffing, administration and ways of working just weeks before the Christmas shopping season starts.
VSG operates the security contract, providing staff to cover areas such as the main malls, service yards, car parks and overnight operations alongside administration and customer service duties.
ABM specialises in facilities management services such as cleaning, maintenance and house keeping.
A letter sent by VSG to its staff, seen by the Birmingham Post, said Hammerson had set out a number of cost saving challenges and instructed it to reduce its own operating costs by ten per cent.
It said: “We now face a number of tough decisions to meet the current demands to make the service fit for the future market conditions and deliver the required savings.
“We have therefore undertaken a number of reviews, taking into account the current team structures, ways of working, centre footfall and past incidence to ensure there is no increased risk to employees and the centres.”
Management at VSG are now in consultation with staff and its proposed changes are due to come into force on November 1.
The company declined to make any further comment.
ABM said in a brief statement : “As part of the activity which explores operational efficiencies at Bullring, a review of our team structure on site is under way.
“We are currently consulting with a small number of individuals who may be affected and are dedicated to offering redeployment opportunities where at all possible.”
Hammerson said the review into working practices affected all areas of operations with its contractors and not just front-line staff.
A statement added: “As part of our reshaped strategy, we have explored a number of operational efficiencies in collaboration with our long-standing service providers. The review of our shopping centre operations covers all areas including administration, recycling and waste removal plus investment in new equipment and technology designed to improve service performance and is not simply related to front-line staff.
“We want to ensure that our centres have an optimised service delivery team with the most relevant skills which reflect the changing needs of both our customers and retailers.
“We would like reassure our shoppers and colleagues that the safety and security of the centre is our number one priority and continues to remains so.”
It is not clear exactly how many staff are set to be made redundant.