Eaga refocuses on back of staff axe

Sep 3 2010 by Karen Dent, The Journal

GREEN services group Eaga has revealed that its voluntary redundancy programme attracted more applicants than it expected but said that shedding 223 workers was more about refocusing the business rather than cost-cutting.

The Newcastle-based company, which provides the Warm Front scheme, had initially sought 150 volunteers but more came forward from its 5,000-strong workforce based in the UK, Ireland, India and Canada.

Chief financial officer Giles Sharp said: “The programme we rolled out was really about the evolution of the business, making sure the right people are in the right jobs.

“We got more than we were expecting. We are refocusing our workforce and we are going to be recruiting in other areas.

“We’ve talked long and hard about renewables, particularly solar PV (photovoltaic) which is progressing well. It’s in these areas we would be looking at recruiting. The expectation is that we’ll probably keep the workforce around 5,000 at least.”

Eaga revealed the figures in its annual results to the end of May which were published yesterday and showed a 3.1% rise in revenues to £762.2m and a 7.5% increase in pre-tax profits to £51m.

But the group, which also delivers outsourced business processes like the BBC’s Digital Help Switchover scheme, said the strong results came against an uncertain political and economic backdrop in which some projects were delayed. There are also some concerns about the future of the flagship Warm Front scheme, which helps people out of fuel poverty.

Government funding for the scheme dropped by 11% to £350m during the year.