Energy supplier Npower announces plans to restructure its business

Npower has announced plans to restructure its business which union sources say could lead to the loss of up to 4,500 jobs and the closure of a number of call centres. 

The news was described as a ‘body blow’ by one union official, especially coming just weeks before Christmas. 

Workers will be given details at briefings later today.

Npower, one of the Big Six energy suppliers in the UK, lost 261,000 customers in the third quarter of this year.

The company, owned by German power firm Innogy, now has fewer than half a million customers – around 447,000.

Johannes Teyssen, chief executive of Npower’s owners E.ON said: ‘The UK market is currently particularly challenging. We’ve emphasised repeatedly that we’ll take all necessary action to return our business there to consistent profitability.

‘For this purpose, we’ve put together proposals and already begun discussing them with British unions.’     

A GMB spokesman said: ‘Clearly this announcement will be a body blow to Npower workers across the UK.

‘The Government has to urgently wake up to the impact that the price cap is having on good and reasonably well-paid jobs in UK energy companies.

‘Npower is a poorly managed company with significant losses in the UK but it’s always the workers that face the brunt of poor management coupled with regulation that sends work overseas whilst sacking energy workers in the UK.’ 

Yesterday, it emerged that Npower owner Innogy suffered a major hit to its outlook for the financial year as Britain’s price cap continued to weigh on the sector.  

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