IT services company Capita has confirmed that 59 jobs are under threat at its contact centre in Sheffield following a "review of operations".

News of the proposed job cuts emerged a fortnight after Capita took over the site as part of a £18m a year outsourcing contract with electrical retailer The Dixons Group.

The five-year deal sees Capita running customer contact operations - such as customer service, product and sales enquiries - for Dixons, The Link, Currys and PC World. Capita has also taken on board Dixons Group's contract to provide narrowband technical support for Freeserve customers.

Under the agreement the 800-strong workforce based at Dixons Group's Nunnery Square site in Sheffield have transferred to Capita and continue to operate from the same facility.

However, insiders have told The Register that they were stunned when they learned of the proposed job losses because they thought their jobs were safe under TUPE (Transfer of Undertaking - Protection of Employment) regulations.

"The operation in Sheffield was assured during numerous talks with Capita that there would be no redundancies," said one source.

News of the job cuts came out of the blue and has severely dented morale among staff.

A spokesman for Capita said that the redundancies were a "minor restructure of operations for the Dixons Group". He denied staff were given assurances about jobs, insisting the company has "abided by TUPE regulations throughout". ®

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