Energy giant axes jobs

SSE is cutting 444 jobs after receiving a lukewarm welcome for its smart meters.

The FTSE 100-listed firm blamed stiff competition, higher costs and the introduction in January of a cap on how much it can charge.

But the union Unite said it was down to a lack of interest from customers in smart meters. SSE said this was ‘not entirely accurate’ but that it will be shrinking its smart metering and customer service teams.

The job losses, via a voluntary redundancy scheme, represent around 5pc of the workforce in its retail arm.

SSE is one of the Big Six energy providers – along with British Gas, Npower, Scottish Power, Eon and EDF. Its shares fell 3pc, or 34.5p, to 1121.5p.