Workers at a UK based company have reportedly been told they have to move to Romania or risk losing their jobs. The shock announcement came after Verastar Ltd in Sale announced a move to the Balkans, leaving employees at the telecommunications giant terrified about paying bills amid a cost-of-living crisis.
Approximately 60 workers were reportedly told to attend an online meeting last week. It was during this virtual session they were informed that they faced redundancy if they were unprepared to make the move to Romania.
Verastar Ltd is thought to provide essential services to over 10% of the UK's small businesses. The company cited a 'difficult economic climate' and 'war in Ukraine' as factors that spurred the decision to move their Telecoms Technical Support team to another company, reports Manchester Evening News.
Those working in that department have been informed that their contracts will switch to Ascensos from Verastar by the end of April. The contract switch would also involve residing in Romania.
An email from Verastar Ltd bosses to employees has been seen by Manchester Evening News. They said: "We believe that Ascensos will be able to assist us in meeting those economic challenges.
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"Ascensos will therefore announce that one of their measures will be a relocation to Bucharest in Romania which we feel is the right option due to their location having a wider resource pool, solid infrastructure and technology, which will deliver greater efficiency. We do acknowledge that the work is being moved offshore and therefore will be seeking clarification from you as to whether you wish to transfer.
"This may seem obvious since it is unlikely colleagues would wish to transfer overseas, but it is a legal requirement that we ask. Those who do not wish to transfer would unfortunately be placed at risk of redundancy by Ascensos."
A Verastar worker affected by the announcement who wishes to excercise anonymity said the news was a 'big shock' to staff, following a reported bonus payment earlier in the year. He said: "We were called into a Teams meeting on February 9.
"We were told a script would be read and then the call would end and we wouldn't be able to ask any questions. They told us that an email would be sent out telling us that we would have to relocate to Romania or be made redundant.
"I think it's around 60 people who have been affected. There are a lot of people really worried about it.
"People have mortgages and bills to pay and are worried they will be in trouble." The worker says he and other colleagues were told about internal vacancies at Verastar, but claims there are only 'around five' jobs available.
A Verastar spokesperson said 'the majority' of staff will have the chance to be considered for redeployment elsewhere within the business. These roles are said to be available in Manchester offices spanning 'multiple teams'.
The anonymous worker said: "It's not really going to cut it. I am now having to compete against dozens of people for the same jobs in the same area.
"Last year they introduced a bonus scheme which raised our salaries to over £27,000 but now they are saying they can't pay that and blame Ukraine. These pay rises were after that so it doesn't make any sense.
"I have rent and debt of my own to pay. I have been applying for other jobs but I've no idea what is going to happen.
"It's absolutely disgusting how we all found out. It's unfortunate that a company is treating staff - some of whom have worked there for over 10 years, and given their heart and soul to the company - like worthless pieces of meat."
A spokesperson for Verastar Ltd said: "The difficult economic climate, driven by multiple external factors, continues to create a very tough trading environment for our small business customers. Our commitment to support and serve customers when they need us through their channel of choice - by phone, email or online - and at the best time for them, is more important than ever.
"To provide greater flexibility in how we deliver customer care, we have proposed an extension to our partnership with an external customer service centre provider. As a result, we are consulting with some colleagues about the transfer of roles to this partner.
"We understand this is a difficult time for our colleagues and are providing support throughout the formal consultation process, including through our employee assistance programme, a dedicated email address for queries, and signposting additional resources to affected colleagues.
"It remains our priority to redeploy as many colleagues as possible into vacant internal roles and this will be a key part of our discussions with colleagues. These roles across our Manchester offices, which span multiple teams, will give the majority of those colleagues affected an opportunity to be considered for redeployment should they wish to.
"Verastar remains a key employer across Manchester and, alongside working with a partner with a site offshore, most of our customer facing teams operate out of our UK offices in Sale, Manchester City Centre, Leeds and Glasgow."
