Vodafone announces 600 new jobs for the North East

The new customer service roles are part of a bumper 2,100 jobs the company is creating around the country under its biggest employment expansion for years.

Vodafone said it will also create around 800 jobs at its existing customer services centre in Manchester, almost 150 in Newark, more than 150 in Stoke-on-Trent and around 100 in Glasgow, over the next two years.

In addition, its third-party customer service partners will create almost 600 jobs in Newcastle, nearly 200 in the west of Scotland and 100 in Cardiff.

Vodafone UK chief executive Nick Jeffery said: "These new, skilled roles will make a real difference to our customers and a real difference to the communities that are the focus of our customer services investment.

"Our ambition is to give our customers the best experience possible, providing an outstanding level of service and support as we continue to invest in building the biggest and best network in Britain."

Vodafone said the new jobs will enhance the quality of service for its 18 million UK customers as part of a three-year, £2billion investment programme in its network and services.

Vodafone has 3,700 workers in its UK customer care operation - 2,450 in-house and 1,250 with other partners. The company has around 12,500 employees in the UK.

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Karen Bradley said: "Vodafone is one of our country's great international success stories and it's fantastic this global organisation is demonstrating its confidence in the UK by creating new jobs across the North, in the Midlands, in Scotland and in Wales.

"We are working hard to create the right conditions for commercial investment in the UK, and today's announcement is proof that Britain is well and truly open for business."