The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Perth firm to axe hundreds of jobs
OVO Energy accused of betrayal over plan to cut third of workforce
A major Perth employer has been accused of betraying its workforce as it announced plans for mass redundancies.
OVO Energy purchased the domestic arm of SSE in January and took on around 1,000 workers in its Perth contact centre.
At the time of the £500 million deal assurances were given that there would be no redundancies.
Yesterday OVO boss Stephen Fitzpatrick said the firm wants to cut 2,600 workers – around a third of its workforce – as Covid-19 had “accelerated” its integration plans.
OVO said the precise job losses in Perth would not be known until the voluntary redundancy process was complete and it vowed to keep a “significant workforce”.
Justin Bowden, GMB senior organiser, said: “Coronavirus outbreak or not, this is a massive betrayal of promises made to workers and politicians that the sale to OVO would not result in job losses.”
Hundreds of jobs at a Perth energy firm are at risk as the company announced plans to slash a quarter of its workforce.
OVO Energy – which acquired the domestic energy business from SSE in January – opened a voluntary application programme for 2,600 jobs yesterday.
OVO took on around 8,000 staff – including 1,000 workers at SSE’s Perth contact centre – when it completed the £500 million acquisition in January.
At the time, the Bristol-based supplier, which continues to supply homes under the SSE name, assured staff there would be no redundancies.
Yesterday, chief executive Stephen Fitzpatrick blamed Covid-19 for “accelerating” its integration plans, leading union GMB to accuse the firm of a “massive betrayal” of promises made to workers.
OVO said it couldn’t put a precise number on Perth job losses until the voluntary redundancy round was complete. It vowed to maintain a “significant workforce” in the city.
OVO offices are to close entirely in Selkirk, Reading and Glasgow. The cuts will affect hundreds of gas engineers, electricians, meter readers, call centre staff and office workers.
Mr Fitzpatrick, who founded OVO in 2009, said: “Today is a very difficult day. We have a brilliant team here and this news isn’t a reflection of anyone’s work.
“What should have been a much longer process to digitise the SSE business and integrate it with OVO has been accelerated due to the impact of the coronavirus.
“We are seeing a rapid increase in customers using digital channels to engage with us, and in our experience, once customers start to engage differently they do not go back. As a result, we are expecting a permanent reduction in demand for some roles, while other field-based roles are also heavily affected.
“There is never an easy time to announce redundancies and this is a particularly difficult decision to take. But like all businesses, we face a new reality and need to adapt quickly to enable us to better serve our customers and invest in a zero carbon future.”
OVO became the UK’s second largest energy supplier behind British Gas, with 9,500 staff, after the SSE deal was completed.
The energy firm said Covid-19 had meant accelerated changing consumer behaviour with more and more customers going online and using digital tools. This has permanently reduced the demand for some functions and roles.
The redundancies will take place over the course of this year.
A further 700 jobs which were to go offshore to South Africa will remain in the UK after engagement with unions GMB and UNISON.
GMB national secretary Justin Bowden said: “Coronavirus outbreak or not, this is a massive betrayal of promises made to workers and politicians that the sale to OVO would not result in job losses. The Covid crisis and the SVT cap have affected the whole energy retail market but you cannot just cut your way out of a crisis in search of profit.
“While we were able to save 700 jobs from offshoring for now, this is still 2,600 good UK jobs from a company that is busy soaking up taxpayers’ money from the furlough scheme.
“GMB says companies who take government money from the Job Retention Scheme (JRS) should be prevented from making redundancies for at least year.”
Gerry Crawley, UNISON regional organiser said the job cuts were “deeply regrettable”.
He added: “UNISON will continue to work with OVO to try and ensure that any job losses are through a voluntary redundancy process.
“UNISON welcomes the fact that, through early engagement, 700 jobs that were going to be off-shored to South Africa, will be maintained in the UK.”
“You cannot just cut your way out of a crisis in search of a profit. GMB NATIONAL SECRETARY JUSTIN BOWDEN