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Anger as firm recruits bosses after axing Burnley call centre (From Burnley and Pendle Citizen)
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Anger as firm recruits bosses after axing Burnley call centre
10:00am Friday 5th February 2010
More stories about: Shop Direct
A FIRM axing 420 call centre jobs in Burnley has been blasted for launching a search for five £80,000-a-year bosses.
Critics said a recruitment drive by Shop Direct just days after announcing plans to cut 1,500 jobs nationwide, including hundreds in East Lancashire, amounted to “rubbing salt in the wounds” of workers.
Last week, Shop Direct, owner of the Littlewoods and Woolworths.co.uk brands, said it needed to make the cuts at its site in Kingsway, Burnley, because more orders were now being processed online instead of over the phone.
However, it has now followed that up by advertising for five department heads, based at its Liverpool headquarters, each paid £80,000-a-year.
Yesterday, Julie Cooper, Labour group leader on Burnley Council and the party’s parliamentary candidate, said: “This does not look good at all for Shop Direct.
“If I was one of those Burnley workers biting my finger nails and wondering how I was going to pay the mortgage, I would not be too impressed.
“It is rubbing salt in the wounds but there is not much we can do about it.”
Burnley MP Kitty Ussher said: “I think it will be very distressing for those faced with losing their jobs to be faced with these adverts for very highly-paid positions.
“It is distasteful and people will be very upset about it.”
However, Shop Direct was partially defended by Burnley Council leader Gordon Birtwistle, who held talks with bosses at the firm on Wednesday.
He said the company had explained the business reasons behind the decision to axe Burnley jobs, including the cost of running the Kingsway office.
After last week’s decision, which also affected sites in Sunderland, Oldham and North Wales, Shop Direct entered a 90-day consultation with staff over the closures.
A Shop Direct spokeswoman said: “We are advertising a number of roles within our financial services business.
“We have to build our financial services business in order to offer credit products to our customers that will meet this growing demand.”
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Your Say YourCitizen
Shane, Bury says...
9:38pm Fri 5 Feb 10
Although of course sorry for the 450 but what were Shop Direct supposed to do? Keep the 450 employed in a non profitable area of the business (because peoples shopping habits had changed - that's life) and in the process lose millions doing so that would affect other areas of the business? Julie Cooper, they are running a business not a charity you know. But of course you wouldn't understand this as you are a labour group leader.
DaveBurnley, Burnley says...
12:58pm Sun 7 Feb 10
COST CUTTING: Shop Direct base
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CapitaBackHander, Darren says...
2:36pm Fri 5 Feb 10