Vodafone has said it plans to create nearly 600 jobs at Convergys contact centre in Stephenson’s Quarter in central Newcastle.
This is part of a nationwide expansion by Vodafone, in which it intends to create around 2,100 jobs customer service jobs across Britain during the next two years.
Convergys, a subcontractor, has been providing customer contact services to Vodafone since 2005.
Phil Telfer, UK lead at Convergys, said, “It is fantastic news that Vodafone are keen to broaden their relationship with us and create so many new roles at our new state-of-the-art centre in the heart of Newcastle.”
“Vodafone’s ambition is to give their customers the best possible experience and we are committed to doing our part to make that a reality. Vodafone is a key client for us and we are delighted that we can further strengthen and extend our relationship with them.”
In addition to Newcastle, Vodafone will be creating jobs in other urban centres around the UK. The company will create 800 jobs in Manchester, 150 in Stoke-on-Trent, 100 in Glasgow and 100 in Cardiff.
The chief executive of Vodafone UK, Nick Jeffery, said, “These new, skilled roles will make a real difference to our customers and to the communities that are the focus of our customer service investment.”
“Our ambition is to give our customers the best experience possible, providing an outstanding level of service and support as we continue to invest in building the biggest and best network in Britain.”
Vodafone, which has 18 million customers in the UK, is planning a three-year programme of investment in its network and services worth £2 billion.
Vodafone currently has about 12,500 UK employees.
Karen Bradley, the secretary of state for media, culture and sport, said,
“It’s fantastic this global organisation is demonstrating its confidence in the UK by creating new jobs across the north, in the midlands, in Scotland and in Wales.”
Vodafone has, however, been the subject of some controversy in the past, especially around the payment of corporation tax, with the company managing to avoid a £6 billion tax bill back in 2010.
