Centrica will cut 3,000 jobs this year with 800 staff already gone as it aims to cut costs.
The UK’s biggest energy company said it lost 1.5% of its domestic customer base in the first three months of the year, equating to around 225,000 households.
The announcement wiped 1.75% off the company’s value as markets reacted to the news.
Unions condemned the plan to cut jobs, the the GMB saying staff were “confused and disillusioned, managers don’t know if they’re staying or going and the only word from the top is cut, cut, cut”.
Centrica boss Ian Conn said the firm “continues to make good progress in implementing our strategy, and with improving levels of customer service, good operational performance, lower costs, and the launch of new products to help customers manage their energy usage, we remain on track to deliver against our 2016 targets.”
Centrica is one of a number of incumbent energy companies struggling with structural headwinds, high debt and falling customer numbers although its share price decline over the last year has been less dramatic than that of E.on, RWE and EDF, which have lost roughly half their value.
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