Barclaycard closes call centre, offshores to India

Barclaycard will move some of its operations to India following the announcement it is to close its Manchester call centre this summer.

The company's Peterloo House office in Manchester will close on 16 July, with jobs going to a number of other locations including Delhi, Mumbai and Teesside.

A Barclaycard spokesman said the move is to "ensure that the company remains cost efficient".

But Amicus, the union representing Barclaycard staff, has condemned the plans.

An Amicus representative said the union believes it to be "totally inappropriate" for a large and highly profitable employer such as Barclaycard to be announcing closures and job losses.

He said in a statement: "We have made our opposition to these moves very clear to the bank."

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Amicus is working with the bank and has "robust agreements" to help affected employees find other roles within the Barclays group.

Barclaycard chief executive, Antony Jenkins, said the business is becoming more global and needs to change how it operates to be successful. The closing of Peterloo House is part of that process, he said.

The company decided not to move call centre operations to the group's new Manchester premises, preferring to close the call centre operations completely.

Following the closure in July, staff will continue to be paid in full for three months to help them in their efforts to find new jobs.