HUNDREDS of power workers in Ipswich have been offered extra money to walk away from the industry, The Evening Star can reveal today.Powergen is trying to lose about 700 workers from the former TXU headquarters in the town.
HUNDREDS of power workers in Ipswich have been offered extra money to walk away from the industry, The Evening Star can reveal today.
Powergen is trying to lose about 700 workers from the former TXU headquarters in the town.
But so far only a fraction of that number have accepted the offer of voluntary redundancy.
So now the Coventry-based energy giant is boosting the cash it is offering staff in an attempt to persuade them to leave the company.
TXU's own redundancy terms were seen as very generous within the industry, but Powergen is finding they still aren't enough to persuade enough people to leave the industry.
"We always said we would honour TXU severance terms and those terms are very generous," said a Powergen spokesman.
"However we are now in a position to offer some people other terms which reflect their time in the industry and the commitment they have made during a time of uncertainty.
"The exact nature of these terms must remain confidential."
Powergen have not yet been forced to make any compulsory redundancies at its Ipswich – and some staff are being offered positions in other Powergen offices across the country.
Powergen took over the retail business of TXU after the Texas-based company severed its ties with its European arm after massive trading loses were posted last October.
In December Powergen confirmed there would be significant job loses – but the exact scale came as a shock when the company announced only 250 of its 936 jobs in the town would be retained.
Staff at the offices in Ipswich have been sitting tight in the hope that Powergen – which is proud of the claim that it has never made any compulsory redundancies – would be forced to boost the offer.
Whether the latest move is enough to persuade many of them to take the bait was not clear today – and the company was not prepared to comment on whether it was near issuing compulsory redundancy notices.
nWhat do you think of the job losses? Have you been offered more to walk away from your power job. Contact the Evening Star newsdesk on 01473-324788 or starnews@eveningstar.co.uk
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