Firm announces job cuts
UP TO 14O WORKERS TO BE MADE REDUNDANT IN REGION
ONE of Tyneside’s biggest employers could be axeing up to 140 jobs due to changes which the firm says will improve customer experience.
A consultation process is under way with employees of the former Worldpay site in Gateshead’s Team Valley, which employs more than 1,000 people.
It comes just months after Worldpay was acquired by US financial services provider Fidelity National Information Services Inc (FIS).
FIS confirmed it anticipates redeploying around half of the positions into new roles as the company continues to invest in technology and automation. A source said staff were notified of the job cuts this week with the firm expecting to lose less than 140 jobs in the North East.
An FIS spokeswoman said: “FIS can confirm that it has begun a consultation process involving its newly acquired merchant solutions business, formerly Worldpay, in the UK.
“This action is a result of our continued investment in technology and automation to improve our customer experience following the combination of Worldpay and FIS.
“We anticipate a reduction of less than 140 positions.”
The company says on its website that taking on Worldpay ‘greatly expanded FIS’ capabilities by enhancing its acquiring and payment offerings while significantly increasing Worldpay’s distribution footprint.’
The company has pledged to support impacted Gateshead colleagues through the redundancy process. But there will be concern that jobs have been lost both to cheaper workers abroad and to automation, which is seen as an increasing risk to people working in customer service roles, a big employer in the North East.
In April 2018 Wordpay cut between 50 and 80 jobs at its customer service centre.
Around 20 of the job losses were due to work being moved to India, while the rest came after other tasks at the site were automated.
Despite confirming further job losses, FIS has said it is committed to expanding its presence in the UK with more than 6,000 employees.
FIS is an international provider of financial services technology and outsourcing services, based in Jacksonville, Florida, and employs more than 55,000 people worldwide.
The company provides payment processing and banking software, services and outsourcing of associated technology.