Virgin Media won’t reopen its 53 UK retail stores when lockdown ends. The company say the 341 staff will be offered alternative posts – many as home-based customer care.

Virgin Media had already cut down the number of stores it operates in the UK from 140 in 2016.

In March, Virgin Media moved to employ 500 new call centre staff in the UK over concerns that the outsourcing of customer calls to offshore workers in countries including India and the Philippines could be interrupted by the spread of the virus. Virgin Media has also moved to directly hire 700 engineers, most of whom were working for the cable company but employed by third-party businesses, to ensure it had the staff numbers to continue to carry out home visits, including installations and repairs.

The Liberty company is in the early stages of a merger with Telefonica’s the O2.

Categories: Articles, Business, Telco