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Npower to cut 2,500 jobs - a fifth of its UK workforce | Npower to cut 2,500 jobs - a fifth of its UK workforce |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Energy firm Npower is to cut up to 2,500 jobs, more than a fifth of its UK workforce, with an announcement to staff expected this week. | |
Npower, which is owned by the German energy giant RWE, employs 11,500 people in the UK and is one of the country's big six gas and electricity suppliers. | |
The BBC understands sales and marketing roles will be the worst hit. | |
The company, which has not made any official comment, posted a loss of £48m for the first nine months of last year. | |
It has also lost about 200,000 UK customers. | |
RWE will announce Npower's full-year results on Tuesday when it is expected to detail the planned job losses. | |
The German company, which also generates and distributes energy, has been hit by oil prices falling more than a third in the last year to around $38 a barrel. | |
Energy bills | |
Npower's headquarters are in Swindon and most of its UK employees are in the central and north east England and in Yorkshire. | |
Last month, the company announced a 5.2% cut in its gas price, taking effect on 28 March - a £32 average annual reduction to customers on a standard domestic tariff. | |
Like other energy suppliers, it is under pressure from ministers and consumer groups to lower energy bills for customers amid a rapid decline in oil prices. | Like other energy suppliers, it is under pressure from ministers and consumer groups to lower energy bills for customers amid a rapid decline in oil prices. |
The news on job losses also comes days before UK competition regulators unveil plans to make the energy market more transparent for consumers. | The news on job losses also comes days before UK competition regulators unveil plans to make the energy market more transparent for consumers. |
In December, Npower was ordered to pay a settlement of £26m - the biggest such payment ever demanded by UK energy regulators - for sending out inaccurate bills and failing to deal with complaints correctly. The money was split between charity and affected customers. | |
Are you an Npower employee? What is your reaction? If you have any information to share with the BBC, you can email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. | |
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