British Gas owner Centrica has announced plans to cut around 1,300 jobs across six UK centres, including call centre roles in Wales. The job reductions represent approximately 14% of the company's customer operations team and come as Centrica reported a decrease in half-year earnings.
Job cuts breakdown
The restructuring will see 500 call centre roles eliminated, with significant reductions in Cardiff, as well as in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Leicester, Stockport, and Leeds. An additional 800 roles are being cut from support functions across the business. The cuts follow Centrica's announcement of a 'customer service transformation' scheme last month.
A Centrica spokesperson said: "We have been transforming the business for a number of years to ensure we have the right roles in the right places for the future. This means making changes to improve efficiency, drive commercial performance and give our customers the service they want. At the same time, we continue to invest in the skills where there is demand, including recruiting more engineers to meet growing demand and hiring 500 apprentices this year alone."
Union criticism and AI dispute
The GMB union has accused Centrica of replacing call centre staff with artificial intelligence technology. Charlotte Brumpton-Childs, GMB national secretary, said: "It's an absolute disgrace British Gas is slashing hundreds of human jobs and giving them to chatbots. These staff are massively overworked and underpaid, yet do their level best to keep customers happy. Now, instead of being rewarded, they're being replaced by artificial intelligence."
Centrica has denied these claims, calling them "simply wrong." The company maintains that the transformation is about improving efficiency and customer service, not replacing workers with AI.
Impact on Wales and other regions
The job losses will affect workers in Cardiff, where a significant number of call centre roles are being cut. Other affected locations include Glasgow, Edinburgh, Leicester, Stockport, and Leeds. The 800 support function cuts will impact roles across the business, though specific locations have not been detailed.
Despite the reductions, Centrica says it continues to invest in areas of demand, including recruiting more engineers and hiring 500 apprentices this year. The company's half-year report showed a decrease in earnings, prompting the restructuring.
