Appeal to Rock staff
Jul 23 2008 by Peter McCusker, The Journal
NEWCASTLE Building Society (NBS) has urged redundancy-threatened Northern Rock staff to apply for work after signing a deal worth over £10m with a national finance firm creating 50 jobs.
The company, which last year pledged to create 500 North East jobs by 2012, yesterday said its latest contract will add to its existing 1,200-strong workforce, and put the long-term recruitment plans well ahead of schedule. In recent months the group has taken on around 35 former Northern Rock staff and received applications from Rock employees.
But with nationalised Northern Rock set to axe 2,000 jobs in the region in the near future, NBS is hoping to bring in more Rock staff.
Chief executive Colin Seccombe said: “We have employed around 35 former Northern Rock staff in recent months, but with up to 2,000 people facing redundancy in the relatively near future, it’s perhaps surprising that we haven’t received many more than the 195 applications that have come to us from Rock employees.”
The new contract awarded to NBS with a national firm will involve developing its savings offering and the launch of a new savings account brand. NBS will provide an internet with telephone support savings platform, as well as an additional administration and support function for the new account brand.
