Firstsource announce cut of 50 jobs at Derry office

A number of jobs are set to be axed at a Derry call centre, it can be revealed.

Firstsource announced to staff on Wednesday that a number of redundancies would be taking place.

The company said that approximately 50 of the 63 affected employees live in the Derry area.

A spokesperson for Firstsource said: “Firstsource has yesterday (Wednesday) commenced a redundancy consultation process relating to work for our client, NOW Broadband. It affects 63 employees in Northern Ireland.

“Staff impacted have been informed today, and as a responsible employer, we are working closely to support them throughout this process. Firstsource remains committed to Derry/Londonderry.”

But as the company announced the redundancies or redeployment of the impacted staff this morning across Microsoft Teams, this support was not felt.

That is according to one employee, Conal O’Hara, who was given the news yesterday morning.

He said: “Our contract specifically was for customer service for NOW Broadband.

“We were told on this call that because no new orders would be coming in, our customer base would essentially just get smaller and smaller as people drop off, so a decision was made to discontinue the jobs in Derry and to manage these customer accounts in already existing Sky teams or just expand the NOW team in India.

“They will now initiate proceedings to make those on the NOW contract in Derry redundant.

“We were advised there will be opportunities for redeployment, but they didn’t expand on that to say what number of openings are available compared to the redundancies.

“The individual making the call then said they are not able to answer any questions we might have about all of it until we elect an employee representative to negotiate with management.

“And then we were told to take the rest of the day on paid leave.

“I’m worried after hearing this news, as with the date they announced for this to happen, it only gives me nine weeks to find another job, but I don’t even know if I’m being made redundant.”

This news has not been taken lightly across Derry, with the knowledge that these jobs are important to the city.

Sinn Fein MLA, Pádraig Delargy, stated his intention to sit down with Firstsource in a bid to save jobs.

The Foyle MLA said: “News that Firstsource Solutions have begun redundancy with workers at their Derry offices is deeply concerning.

“We have been in contact with Firstsource following today’s announcement, and we will be arranging an urgent meeting with them.

“All efforts must be made by this company to re-skill or re-deploy workers who are being made redundant.

“And it is vital these workers are kept fully informed at every step of this process.”

People Before Profit Foyle General Election Candidate Shaun Harkin has described the redundancy announcement from Firstsource as ‘deeply concerning.’

And Councillor Harkin said: “Yet again we have the bombshell news of massive job losses within a major employer in Derry. 

“The lack of consultation from Firstsource bosses again shows their appalling attitude towards Derry workers.

“I send solidarity to the workers at Firstsource during this challenging time. People Before Profit will fight for their jobs and offer them all the support we can. 

“I have requested a meeting with Firstsource management to discuss options to keep the workers on in another capacity rather than laying them off.”