British Gas owner Centrica to axe 700 jobs

Centrica will cut a further 700 jobs this summer, as the owner of British Gas battles a raft of ‘growing challenges’.

The blue-chip utility is struggling with falling customer numbers and the introduction of a government-imposed cap on all standard energy tariffs.

Last year, Centrica axed more than 2,000 jobs, and in February, it reported a slide in annual operating profits and the loss of 742,000 UK customers.

The latest round of jobs cuts is understood to be in management and back office functions.

A Centrica spokesman told The Guardian and Sky News: "This difficult decision was made because we need to respond to the growing challenges we face. The energy market is going though continued rapid change, competition is fierce, our energy customers are leaving us and we’re operating under a price cap."

The company has now started a 45-day consultation process, including discussing the proposals with employees and unions.

Shares in Centrica were down a little over 1% by 1100 BST at 89.7p.