YEP Says: Tense days for those waiting for the axe to fall

There are many families across Leeds and the wider region who will not sleep easily this week.

How could they, when livelihoods are in jeopardy as Npower decides how and where the axe will fall?

Hundreds of people employed by the energy giant in Yorkshire face losing their jobs after the company announced it was cutting 2,400 posts after reporting losses of £99 million.

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Npower has said it will make “extensive cost savings” to help turn around the “significant” losses made in 2015 and return the company to profitability.

It has been struggling with a new system that has prompted an avalanche of complaints, its poor handling of which saw it slapped with a record fine of £26m in December.

Unions described the job losses as a “devastating blow”, blaming the company’s woes on “poor decision-making at the very top.”

Our thoughts are with the families of the 670 staff employed at its long-term base in Scarcroft, a 20 minute drive from Leeds city centre, and another 557 at Limewood.

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After all, it is already public knowledge that Scarcroft, where a large number of telesales and smart metering programme staff are based, is due to close when the building lease is up in 2018.

Given its record Npower deserves little sympathy.

It operates in a highly competitive market and, frankly, 355,000 customers have voted with their feet.

All power to the consumer then, and rightly so - but it’s cold comfort indeed to those whose jobs hang in the balance tonight.