T-Mobile is overhauling its customer service division by cutting a UK based and outsourced call centre company, which may risk an expected 500 jobs.
However, T-Mobile claimed it has created 200 new customer service roles in the UK, as front line ‘customer facing jobs’ become more important than back office roles.
The move mirrors changes made by other operators such as Vodafone, Orange and O2.
T-Mobile has also restructured its management teams in call centres and created team leader and assistant team leader roles in a bid to reduce staff churn and support staff development.
A spokesman for T-Mobile said: ‘These changes will ensure we have strong leaders managing the best people to handle the most appropriate calls at the right time.’
It emerged last week that around 300 jobs at TSC, T-Mobile’s outsourced company in Larbert, near Falkirk in Scotland, were under threat as the network prepares to move its operations to the Philippines in August 2009.
The decision will also affect all 118 staff at a T-Mobile call centre in Greenock, Scotland, and 100 jobs in Yorkshire.
In 2008, the operator said the new outsourced call centre in Manila, in the Philippines, would not lead to UK redundancies in any of its existing four UK call centres, and contract customers will still be provided with a UK based call centre.
In November 2008, T-Mobile confirmed it was moving its prepay customer services to Manila, and that the decision was taken following a six month review of how to improve its offshore performance.
Under the terms of the deal the network will be part of a joint venture with Indian operator WNS and Filipino operator ACS, which will be called ‘T-Mobile Araneta’.