Virgin Media is to reduce its headcount by 15% as part of a restructuring plan designed to save the cablenet £120 million by 2012. Around 2,200 jobs will be lost, the majority between the fourth quarter of 2009 and the end of 2010, following what the company is describing as “an intensive period of review”.
“We recognise that this brings with it significant uncertainty for our people and the communities where they work. Throughout the process, we will be communicating as early and openly as we can,” Virgin Media CEO Neil Berkett, said in a statement.
The company added that it would seek to avoid redundancies and offer its staff alternative employment where possible.
Grace Mitchell, national official for the Communications Workers Union with responsibility for Virgin Media members, said she was contacting the company with a matter of urgency to seek assurances over jobs. “We will also be asking for detail regarding who is specifically affected and where,” she said.
4,000 jobs had already been lost from the group following the amalgamation of the former NTL with Telewest in 2006.
