Call centre giant Firstsource has announced that it will be recruiting new staff to work at its Londonderry site – just weeks after announcing job cuts at its operation in Belfast.
With an HQ in India, the company employs 27,000 people in 44 call centres worldwide, with over 1,500 being based in Northern Ireland. During March the company revealed that it was to cut 90 jobs in Belfast. The jobs affected by the company are thought to belong to the company’s deal with Sky.
Now Firstsource is recruiting staff to work on a Sky contract at its operations in Springtown Business Park, Londonderry. The company announced a new 10-year customer service deal with Sky back in February.
In an interview with the Belfast Telegraph, a spokesperson for the company said: “Recruitment for Sky in Derry is ongoing, based on contractual requirements and the work carried out there is different to that in Belfast.
“Any roles in Derry wouldn’t replace Belfast roles – the location is completely separate, similar to the Cardiff site.”
Firstsource has responded to the March job cuts by saying that it was “fully committed to the Northern Ireland marketplace and is continuing to invest in the region,” and that it has been working with Sky to “maximise the customer experience we provide through our service operation in Belfast.”
The company has said that it will try and “redeploy” affected staff to other centres.
Around 950 staff are currently employed at its Derry site, with 400 staff located at Belfast.
“We are committed to treating every employee with respect and are liaising closely with all affected employees to provide support and reassurance during this process,” said the company. “Our other operations in Northern Ireland are unaffected by this announcement.”
