British Gas axes 1,240 in headquarters shake-up

BRITISH GAS is to cut 1,240 jobs in a restructuring of its corporate headquarters and central services that will cost pounds 70m, writes Mary Fagan.

The company's research, technology and construction units will bear the brunt of the losses but Cedric Brown, the chief executive, said the cuts would affect all levels. 'It is not the troops taking the brunt of it,' he added.

In recent years British Gas has shed almost 5,000 jobs, leaving a workforce of 80,000. It has also undertaken a radical reorganisation at district and regional level.

Headquarters and central staff number 3,700. In addition to the job losses, 2,000 staff will be transferred to other business units.

Mr Brown said that the plans for a shake-up formed part of his effort to make British Gas more dynamic and responsive to customers' needs.

Staff are being offered an enhanced redundancy package and the company hopes to avoid compulsory severance. British Gas said that the payback period would take between 18 months and two years and would bring annual savings of about pounds 30m.

Mr Brown, who became chief executive last year, said that the company wanted to refocus the corporate centre as it expanded in the UK and overseas.

Unemployment in the construction industry will top 500,000 within three months, Ucatt, the building union, said yesterday, writes Barrie Clement.

Ucatt said half of its 170,000 membership was now out of work and many workers routinely looked for jobs as far away as Greece and Turkey. More than 450,000 jobs had been lost from the industry since 1989.