Online supermarket Ocado looks to move 200 jobs to Sunderland

The grocery business has confirmed that around 200 jobs could be moved to the city from its Hatfield Contact Centre under proposed plans.

The company already has an office in Sunderland based at the Vaux site, having been one of the first business to sign up to the development.

It moved into the top two floors of THE BEAM in January 2020 as part of a 15-year lease and went on to launch a recruitment drive that planned to create 300 jobs.

Now it has confirmed proposed plans to move its contact centre operation under one roof in a bid that the firm says will help it to offer ‘the best customer service.’

Under plans the Hatfield Contact Centre would close, with the roles transferred to the Sunderland office.

Workers will be faced with a choice to move to Sunderland and continue their role or be redeployed into other Ocado Logistics roles.

If an employee does not take either of the options the company has said that there may be redundancies.

Ocado stressed that the consultation on the plans is ongoing and a decision has not yet been reached.

An Ocado spokeswoman said: “Over the last few months, we have been reviewing our contact centre operations to ensure we continue to offer the best customer service.

“As part of this review, it has been determined that the contact centre operations would be more effective if they were operated from a single location.

“On this basis, we are proposing that our Hatfield Contact Centre close, and the roles transfer to our existing purpose-built contact centre in Sunderland.

"The proposal will keep the overall headcount the same, but have the entire contact service operation operate under one roof.

“Should the proposal go ahead, all Hatfield Contact Centre colleagues would be offered a relocation package to Sunderland, or have the option to be redeployed into other Ocado Logistics roles.

"In the event that a colleague chooses not to take these options, there may be redundancies although our ultimate aim is to keep as many people in our business as possible.”

A message from the Editor:

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

You can subscribe to this website and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app.

With a digital subscription, you can read more than five articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content.

Simply click ‘Subscribe’ in the menu. You can subscribe to the newspaper with 20% off here.

Thank you.