Southern Cross cuts 3,000 jobs

Care homes company announces plan to slash workforce as it battles for survival Up to 3,000 Southern Cross staff are losing their jobs as the stricken care homes company battles to avert financial ruin. The company, which is teetering on the brink of collapse, plans to cut its workforce from 44,000 to 41,000 by October, as part of an operational efficiencies programme. Southern Cross claimed that the cuts would not result in a lower quality of service. However, they are likely to add to the uncertainty currently being suffered by its 31,000 residents and their families. “Southern Cross has a strong set of values and a clear vision to serve the care-related needs of elderly people in our society,” said chief executive Jamie Buchan in a statement to the City. “We are engaging with colleagues to put in place the best possible staffing model for our future needs, and one which fully embraces the best practice available to us.” Southern Cross said that the job cuts would not include home managers, deputy managers, relief managers, activity co-ordinators and administrators. It hopes to minimise the number of redundancies. The full extent of the turmoil at Britain’s largest care home operator was exposed last week, when the company was forced to slash the amount of rent it pays to its landlords by 30%. Without this move, Southern Cross would have ceased trading. The crisis has prompted severe criticism of the way Southern Cross was floated on the stock market in 2006 by private equity firm Blackstone. Its future is now in the hands of its landlords , who must decide whether to strike a deal with Buchan that will keep the company running. Christopher Fisher, chairman of Southern Cross, believes the firm can turn itself around. “Notwithstanding the current financial pressures, Southern Cross is in the process of transforming the quality of its business,” Fisher said. “There is a real momentum behind the ambition of our management team and there is too much of value within our business for it to be lightly discarded.” Southern Cross Healthcare Healthcare industry Job losses Graeme Wearden guardian.co.uk

Posted by on June 8, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.