400 jobs to go as Vodafone closing Banbury call centre
Mobile communications giant Vodafone has announced that it would close its customer relations centre in Banbury next year. The move will throw as many as 400 employees at the centre out of work. Newbury-based Vodafone said that the decision was taken to improve efficiency as Banbury centre had little teams performing different tasks, but the company wanted bigger and specialized teams. Vodafone said that it would to generate 200 customer facing jobs at centres in Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, Didsbury, Manchester and Stoke-on-Trent. Vodafone spokeswoman Jane Frapwell said the staff affected by the closure of the Banbury centre would be given an opportunity to apply for the new jobs, though she added that there was no assurance they would want to relocate. Speaking on the topic, Vodafone UK HR director Matthew Brearley said, “Our other contact centres are in other places like Stoke and Newark and Didsbury and for that reason it is a very big decision for those people as to whether they move.” Business leaders have warned that north Oxfordshire would not be able to absorb an additional work force of 400 people if mobile phone phone operator closes its Banbury call centre. Vodafone, which has a work force of around 3,300 people at its Newbury headquarters, has been using the Banbury centre since 1996.
