Call centre axe could aid Oldham

THE closure of three Shop Direct call centres could bring a jobs boost to its Oldham sites.

The home-shopping group has announced it is to axe 1,500 jobs in Sunderland, Burnley and Newtown in Mid Wales — blaming it on customers switching from telephones to the Internet to place orders.

But the firm will create 350 new roles at its remaining sites, which include a large distribution centre in Linney Lane, Shaw, and a returns centre at Raven Mill, Chadderton. The company, formerly known as Littlewoods Home Shopping, employs around 10,000 staff, including up to 1,250 in Shaw, and has sales of more than £1.6 billion.

The group includes the former catalogue shopping giants of Littlewoods, Great Universal and Kays as well as Additions Direct, Marshall Ward and Choice.

A spokesman said the shake-up is part of changes to its operational structure to reflect the change in customer behaviour.

He said: “Following a successful peak trading period where total sales grew by six per cent and online sales by 19 per cent, Shop Direct Group now looks set to exceed its target of 70 per cent of its sales online by 2010/11.

“With more customers shopping online than ever before and peaking at 85 per cent during the recent Christmas period, Shop Direct Group is now faced with excess capacity and more space in its contact centres than it needs to handle the declining call volumes. Less than four years ago, 33 million calls were taken through our contact centres compared with only 19 million today. Customers are becoming increasingly self–sufficient, choosing to transact through the web and manage their accounts online.”

Chief executive Mark Newton–Jones said: “We recognise that this is a very difficult time for those teams affected by the proposed contact centre closures. We are working closely with the trade unions to help staff through the consultation process and support them in finding future employment.

“We are a strong and growing business and we need to adapt to reflect the way our customers choose to shop with us.”

The shopworkers’ union Usdaw said the sites will close in April or May.

National officer David Johnson said: “The closure of Shop Direct sites and the subsequent loss of so many jobs will come as terrible news for our members.

“Usdaw opposes the closures and we will be examining the business case in further detail through our national forums to see if there is any way to avoid the closures.

“Should these closures go ahead, we will be doing all we can to ensure that our members receive the best possible redundancy package and are kept fully informed throughout the process at this time of uncertainty.”