Nearly 250 staff at one of Northampton’s biggest employers could be at risk of redundancy due to plans to relocate parts of the business.
A total of 247 staff at Nationwide’s administration centre in Kings Park Road, Moulton Park are affected by plans to move some bases to London, Swindon and Manchester.
Nationwide said staff were first informed of the proposals last year to give them a chance to plan ahead, but the firm remained committed to Northampton.
There are 140 staff affected by plans for the treasury department to move back to London, and some of its back office jobs to Swindon.
Another 107 people are affected by plans to move the commercial property department to London and Manchester. This equates to just under 12 per cent of the 2,100-strong workforce at Moulton Park.
Formal letters were sent to staff in the treasury department last week, asking them to indicate whether they wanted to take redundancy or relocate, ahead of the move in October.
The decision to relocate the treasury department was initially announced to staff in February 2012, and the commercial property move was announced last summer.
All affected employees have been offered a relocation package and a travel allowance, and those not moving will be offered “an enhanced redundancy package”.
A Nationwide spokesman said: “Last year, we announced to employees that we had made the careful decision to relocate our treasury team to London and Swindon, and part of our commercial property team to London and Manchester.
“It was crucial to our success to make the careful decision to move.
“Moving the front office to London enables us to work better with key stakeholders in the city.
“The welfare of our employees is of utmost importance and we have offered all affected employees a relocation package.
“Northampton remains an important strategic location for Nationwide.”
Northampton North MP Michael Ellis said Nationwide’s plans were not negative. He said: “These are not job losses, simply restructuring, which happens from time to time in large companies.
“I am pleased to hear Nationwide will maintain a large presence in Northampton. It is a great location for business, particularly with the new Waterside Enterprise Zone.”
Tim Rose, assistant general secretary for the Nationwide Group Staff Union, said: “Change happens all the time and there are changes at Northampton.
“For business reasons the company is relocating the treasury back to London and some back office jobs to Swindon.
“There are quite long lead times into this, so people have known the changes are coming and have had the chance to look for other jobs.”
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