Barclays 85 contact centre jobs is good news for Doxford
Jun 25 2008 by Peter McCusker, The Journal
BARCLAYS Bank is creating 85 new jobs at its contact centre in Sunderland just a month after US banking giant Citigroup announced it would shut its 400-worker centre in the city.
Barclays is opening a new financial planning telephone advice centre at the Doxford International site, which with 1,600 staff is already the bank’s biggest in the UK. Alan Longmuir, head of premium segments at Barclays, said the centre was “an exciting new venture and a first for Barclays” in giving customers advice over the phone rather just in-person at a bank. Barclays says its decision to site the new service in Sunderland reflects its confidence in the skills base of the area.
Coun Paul Watson, leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “The council has worked closely with Barclays since the company first set up its contact centre here in 1999. We’re delighted they have chosen Sunderland as the site for this new centre.
“It reflects Sunderland’s growing position as a location specialising in some of the most highly skilled contact centre functions and we look forward to continuing to work with Barclays.”
Since Citigroup announced its departure from Doxford, French utility EDF Energy has said it is thinking of recruiting another 300 staff to add to its workforce of 1,400 at Doxford.
