BT to cut Adastral Park Martlesham workforce by a third

The 2,900-strong workforce at Martlesham, near Ipswich - BT's big, historically-important research base - were told of the planned cuts at a meeting on Thursday morning.

Under the proposals, the on-site workforce at Adastral would be cut to about 1,800, with an estimated 1,100 jobs moving to other sites in the UK.

It is understood that the move is not part of another major restructure taking place UK-wide as part of its long-term plans, but the Ipswich site is large and therefore costly to run.

However, it is part of its Better Workplace Programme which is consolidating BT operations into fewer and more modern buildings.

It will be a blow to the area, as Adastral and BT have a huge economic impact on Suffolk, as highlighted in a report published earlier this year which revealed that the company generates around £3bn for the East of England economy.

However, the group has stressed its commitment to the park and its world-renowned research facility - which is also home to other hi-tech companies.

A BT Group spokesman said: “We’re consolidating into a smaller number of buildings around the UK that provide cutting edge technology and great working environments for our people.

"As part of these activities, we’re proposing to reduce the size of our presence at Adastral Park and move some roles to other BT Group locations over the next two years.

"We’re committed to Adastral Park for the long-term, and we’ll continue to invest in our facilities there as a number of our core operations, research and security functions will remain on-site.

"We’ll work closely with any colleagues impacted by these changes and will offer support including relocation and redeployment options wherever possible.”

One of the factors is the sheer size and scale of the park, with significant investment needed to update a number of its buildings and facilities - a major undertaking.

The company plans to consolidate its presence there into a small number of offices and other spaces.

There are no immediate changes planned on campus - but they will be happening over a couple of years as it works through its plans, it said.

It also has no plans to sell Adastral Park land or buildings as a result of the proposals - and there will be no impact on any of its tenants on the campus, it added.

The proposals for the site are part of a wider strategy to provide better working environments for staff in a smaller number of strategic hubs "close to our customers and talent", it said.

It will review the future of any empty buildings should the proposals go ahead, it added. 

BT said it was supporting any workers affected by the proposals - including offering them relocation and redeployment options wherever possible.

It is also talking to major unions - the Communication Workers Union representing engineers, and Prospect, which represents managers, it said.

"We’re now actively consulting with our colleagues and trade union partners over these proposals, so we cannot provide any further details at this stage," the spokesman said.

But Adastral is still part of the company's future, he added.

"It's still one of our long-term strategic bases," he said. "It will remain the primary research and tech base there - that's not going to change."

Adastral Park covers more than 100 acres and consists of around 100 buildings with a variety of functions from office space to testing and storage facilities. A number are let to more than 100 tenants under the Innovation Martlesham banner.