Jobs secured as Comet opts to keep call centre

HUNDREDS of jobs have been secured in North Somerset after electrical retailer Comet announced it is to retain its call centre near Clevedon.

Earlier this year, Comet, which has offices at Windmill Road in Kenn, announced the centre may merge with another in Hull as part of a move to axe hundreds of jobs.

Staff were told that around 150 jobs at the centre – Comet's main customer support office – could go.

This was around a third of the 450 job losses nationwide at the struggling electrical firm, which sold in February for a nominal fee of just £2.

The company was bought by a firm of private investors called OpCapita and the new owners began the process of making "significant savings" to save it from collapse.

Bosses said they needed to review all areas of the business and the company's working practices while retaining focus on delivering "great products and great customer service".

The retailer employs 8,000 people across the UK and said it was working hard to keep job losses to a minimum.

Now, following what it called extensive research and a 90-day consultation with staff, it has been announced that the centre in Kenn will remain open and the call centre in Hull will close.

In Hull, 200 people will be made redundant and 65 people will be transferred to different roles.

It is understood that staff at the Kenn centre, where 414 people are employed, will remain as they are.

A spokesman for Comet said: "Following the proposal to move from two contact centres to one, Comet can confirm that having carried out extensive research the decision has been made to close the call centre in Hull and move the activity to our Clevedon base."

Despite closing the Hull call centre, the spokesman said 200 staff would remain at the Yorkshire site in other parts of the business.

"We will continue to support affected colleagues during the remainder of the 90 day consultation period and will offer on-site help and support to colleagues around preparing a CV and entering the job market," he added.

Comet has been one of the retailers hardest hit by the downturn on the high street and has seen sales slump over the last year.

Community leaders in Clevedon said it was good news for the town that the call centre had been saved.

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