Guardian Royal Exchange cuts 300 call centre jobs

The Guardian Royal Exchange group is to close two customer service call centres in its healthcare division, with the loss of 300 jobs.

The two centres that will close are in Eastbourne and Folkestone on the south coast of England. Customer services will in future be routed to its call centre in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

The company claims the move is part of a restructuring strategy after its £435m acquisition of PPP healthcare in February.

A spokesman for Guardian Royal Exchange said: "Tunbridge Wells will be the focus of call centre activity for the healthcare division. And business will be consolidated."

He added: "The site allows economies of scale so it can accommodate some extra agents, who will come from one of the two centres." However he could not be specific about the number of agents that will be transferred to the Kent centre.

The restructuring programme is intended to create a clearer identity, improve efficiency and reduce costs - giving customers a better service. The spokesman claimed there is no contradiction in reducing the number of agents in customer services and wanting to improve efficiency.