NTL is outsourcing or axing 6,000 jobs by the end of
2007 as it completes the integration of Telewest, which it acquired
this year.
NTL acquired Telewest for £3.4bn and is now looking to deliver
cost savings of £250m through outsourcing and reducing operational
duplications.
As part of the restructuring plan, around 1,500 call centre jobs
in Swansea and Liverpool will be outsourced to IBM. A small number
of posts in Teeside will also move to the outsourced operation.
A further 4,500 jobs will be axed as a result of the outsourcing
process through both natural wastage and voluntary redundancy, said
NTL.
The firm admitted there would be some compulsory redundancies.
It also plans to slash the number of temporary workers it
employs.
The heavily indebted NTL posted an operating profit of £4m for
the first three months of the year. NTL has debts of £5.4bn.
NTL intends re-branding itself under the Virgin name, following
its recent acquisition of Virgin Mobile.