BT plans put 140 jobs at risk

Telecommunications giant BT is planning to close its office in Londonderry with the potential loss of around 140 jobs in the city.

In an email to the city's MP Colum Eastwood on Wednesday, BT said its proposals to close the Derry office is part of a programme of "consolidating into a smaller number of buildings".

The majority of roles would be transferred to India while some employees could possibly relocate to Belfast, the company said.

All staff will leave the Derry office by the end of the year under the company's plans, BT said.

In January BBC News NI reported up to 90 jobs could be at risk at BT's Belfast headquarters due to changes at the telecoms company.

Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald described the job losses as "deeply disappointing".

The Sinn Féin minister said the news was especially concerning, coming so soon after the loss of 300 jobs at BT in Enniskillen.

"As a significant employer in Derry for many years, this announcement will be of real concern to BT workers and the wider local community," Archibald said.

"I met the company this afternoon and made clear that these plans are entirely contrary to my drive for regional balance."

She said Invest NI would be working with staff affected "to offer retraining and to help them with other job opportunities".

Eastwood, of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, said the prospect of job losses was "devastating news for BT workers, their families and the broader local economy in Derry".

He said was communicating with senior BT management and he would raise the matter with the Stormont and London governments.

"Relocating these roles to India and Belfast is a mistake, it makes regional economic imbalances worse and it's a direct transfer of opportunity from our city to other places that do not need it," Eastwood added.

Of the 140 staff in Derry, around 90 people work in BT's business services team.

BT plans to "transfer most of the roles to our operations in India," the company email said, adding that the Derry office was "not suitable for the long-term".

A further 47 staff who work in the group business services may have "the option of transferring their role to Belfast".

Eastwood added: "At a time when we need to be investing more in jobs and opportunities in our city, the proposed loss of these jobs will have a serious impact."

Democratic Unionist Party assembly member Gary Middleton said he was deeply disappointed by the announcement and said this proposal could have a huge impact on many people.

"At a time when we need to be investing more in jobs and opportunities in our city, this proposed loss of jobs will have a serious impact, on the employees and their families, as well as the local community," he said.

by John Campbell, BBC News NI economics editor

The threat to BT's Derry office has been obvious for almost six years.

In the summer of 2019, BT announced a plan to consolidate its UK offices into a small number of new or refurbished buildings.

Its plan for Northern Ireland was to refurbish its Riverside Tower office block , a project which was completed in 2023.

Last year the company announced it would close its Enniskillen call centre with most staff taking voluntary redundancy.

In May last year, BT's new chief executive, Allison Kirkby, announced £3bn of cost cuts and confirmed an earlier target to cut up to 40% of the group's workforce by the end of this decade.

So commercial logic meant the Derry operation was highly likely to meet the same fate as Enniskillen.

Derry and Strabane council is to seek a meeting with the company to discuss the proposals.

Mayor Lilian Seenoi Barr and chief executive officer, John Kelpie, told councillors on Wednesday that they had received correspondence from BT over the potential job losses and that had been forwarded to elected members.

People Before Profit councillor Shaun Harkin said many workers and their families would be "sitting worrying now about their future".

"I think it's a disgraceful decision and I think this will suck decent paying jobs out of the city."

Ulster Unionist councillor Derek Hussey said there was "a certain irony" in BT, a national provider, proposing to take jobs out of the city and move them to Delhi in India.

He said offering some 47 workers the prospect of moving to Belfast would "not be practical" for many who lived in the north west.