BT call centre to cut 300 staff from Enniskillen site

About 300 people have been employed at the Enniskillen site providing support to EE mobile customers

BT's decision to close its Enniskillen call centre is "devastating", the economy minister has said.

About 300 people were employed at the County Fermanagh site providing support to EE mobile phone customers.

They had previously been offered voluntary redundancy as the future of the site was reviewed.

In a statement on Tuesday, Deirdre Hargey branded the company's decision to close by October 2024 as "extremely disappointing".

"As a major employer in the region for over three decades, this decision is devastating for the workers and their families, and also for the wider community," she said.

She said she has asked Invest NI to ensure that "every step possible" is taken to support staff who have been affected by the decision.

DUP MLA for Fermanagh and South Tyrone Deborah Erskine said the decision would be "complete devastation to Enniskillen and the local economy".

"What we are pursuing in the assembly is regional balance in terms of investment and in terms of jobs, and that was the vision that the economy minister set out," she told BBC Radio Ulster's Evening Extra programme.

"I will be very much holding the feet to the fire of the interim economy minister in relation to that vision to ensure that we have our fair share, in Fermanagh and South Tyrone, of investment and jobs."

'Difficult decision'

In a statement, a BT spokesperson said that 252 out of 307 workers had applied for voluntary redundancy.

"We recently closed our voluntary paid leavers offer for colleagues, and over 80% of colleagues have taken the opportunity to take this up," the spokesperson said.

"We have now made the difficult decision to propose closing the site to the small number of remaining desk-based colleagues on 31 October and have entered into consultation with colleagues and trade union partners."

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) NI Telecoms Branch said they were "totally devastated at the news".

"This will have a major impact on these workers, their families and the local economy of Enniskillen town and surrounding areas of Fermanagh", the regional secretary Erin Massey said.