3:27pm Tuesday 18th November 2008
By Tom Parkes
Essex train operator National Express East Anglia (NEEA) is to axe jobs to save cash.
The firm said it was too early to say how many redundancies were on the cards but the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) predicted 314 posts would go, including 72 unfilled vacancies.
NEEA confirmed the plans would include shutting its Norwich call centre - which employs 73 people - and getting rid of its award-winning restaurant service on fast trains to and from London.
The TSSA said it was surprised by the size of the cuts as the company announced just three weeks ago that its rail profits had risen by six per cent this year in East Anglia and by nine per cent UK-wide.
General secretary Gerry Doherty said: “This is a bad blow for the eastern region, which is suffering higher unemployment like all other regions in the country.”
A NEEA spokesman said the firm constantly reviewed its structure and staffing “as any sensible business does”.
“We are undertaking a review to give greater focus on customer service and operational delivery,” she said.
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