MORE THAN 420 staff have been put on 90-day protective notice by one of Northern Ireland’s largest call centres, with some 250 workers likely to lose their jobs.
HCL BPO Services, which has call centres in Belfast and Armagh, announced yesterday that it was putting 425 staff on notice. It said it was hoping to maintain 170 of these jobs, which means 255 employees face redundancy.
The company is closing its Armagh operation, which employs 170, with all operations moving to Belfast.
The Indian-owned company employs 800 people and has been operating in Northern Ireland for 10 years.
The general manager of HCL BPO Services, Anita Barnard, said: “As a responsible employer we are committed to retaining and retraining as many of the affected employees as possible, and during the consultation period we will engage with each employee affected to look at ways we can assist them gain alternative employment within and outside HCL BPO.”
The North’s Minister for Enterprise Arlene Foster said the news was a “dreadful blow” to those affected. “My thoughts are with them and their families. It is a worrying time for everyone and whilst I appreciate the headline figures are shocking, I am somewhat encouraged by the commitment of HCL to try and redeploy 40 per cent of those affected, thereby mitigating the impact.”
She said in relation to the Armagh closure Invest Northern Ireland would work with potential investors to encourage them to set up in the city.
The Minister said she was reassured the job losses were purely a reaction to wider commercial circumstances and in no way questioned HCL’s longer-term commitment to Northern Ireland.
“Belfast is one of HCL’s UK centres of excellence for customer experience management and I welcome their commitment to develop this further, which would enable them to sustain and grow employment in Northern Ireland over time,” she said.
“Over recent years HCL has been a valued employer and investor in Northern Ireland and they have helped to position Northern Ireland as a competitive investment location,” Ms Foster added.
