Thames Water: 140 staff to be sacked as it ‘danced with the devil’ on £14bn debt pile
A union has pledged to contest job cuts from Thames Water, as the UK’s largest supplier confirms preparations to slash as many as 300 roles.
The GMB slammed the company’s financial management, after Thames Water justified the potential thinning of staff numbers as a necessary belt-tightening measure – with the firm struggling under a £14bn debt pile.
Gary Carter GMB National Officer slammed Thames Water’s redundancy consultation exposed the failed privatisation model, which had contributed to “virtually no investment, systematic asset stripping and billions of public money drained from the system” – all to fill “shareholder and fat cat coffers.”
“Thames Water has danced with the devil and now workers are paying the price. As a result, Thames is on it’s knees and water workers are losing their livelihoods. It’s abhorrent and systematic of the failed experiment that is water privatisation,” he said.
Carter revealed GMB will “fight to minimise any compulsory redundancies and make sure our members get every penny they are due.”
Thames Water confirmed frontline workers will not be hit by these proposed changes, with office positions targeted, while all unions were consulted prior to the announcement.
It also revealed more than half the roles being removed are not currently filled, with GMB estimating 140 staff will lose their jobs if the proposals go through.
When approached for comment, Thames Water told City PM the cuts were necessary to ensure financial discipline and guarantee the supplier operates within its budget – with the company employing 8.200 people and serving 15m customers across the country.
A Thames Water spokesperson said: “We need to make more difficult but necessary decisions to ensure we continue to deliver to our budgets. That’s why today we’ve announced a range of measures to reduce our costs further and become more efficient. This means we are consulting on a proposal which could lead to the potential loss of around 300 roles.
‘”Delivering our refocused turnaround plan will strengthen the operational and financial resilience of Thames Water, so that we can continue to meet our customers’ needs, and create a platform from which to accelerate progress, underpinning our business plan for 2025-2030 and beyond.”
The move comes at Thames Water scrambles to secure more funds for its turnaround plan and tame mounting debts.
Ofwat is weighing up the supplier’s investment plan for the coming decade ahead of the industry’s upcoming price review next year – which establishes investment allowances and household water bills.
Thames Water is pushing for more funding from stakeholders in replacing its leaking, creaking infrastructure, but wants households to help foot the bill with higher prices for running water through their taps.
However, the company is still reeling from boardroom disarray following the shock departure of chief executive Sarah Bentley, who had been pushing an eight-year turnaround plan for the business.
Last month, the struggling supplier warned regulators it faces a £2.5bn budget blackhole unless it can hand bigger payouts to investors.
Investec warned in its latest review of the water sector that Thames Water is “clearly a problem,” and remains the most troubled supplier.
It suggested investors “focus on the strengths and weaknesses” of rival publicly listed companies such Pennon, United Utilities and Severn Trent, and “look through the noise, however unhelpful, of the challenges “facing Thames Water.”