National Express to axe 750 jobs

PUBLIC transport group National Express is planning to axe up to 750 jobs in a cost-cutting drive designed to save £15million a year.

The coach, bus and train group - whose rail franchises include regional operator National Express East Anglia (NXEA) - said today that the cuts would involve support services and administration roles.

The figure is understood to include the closure of the NXEA call centre in Norwich, which was announced last month as part of a package of cuts which also included the withdrawal of the restaurant service on the London-Norwich main line.

Around 340 jobs in all were said to be at risk within NXEA, but nobody was available for comment at the National Express Group today to confirm whether the latest announcement involved additional job losses within the East Anglia operation.

In a statement, National Express said it had seen some impact of the weakening UK economy on its rail business.

The company, which employs around 18,000 people in the UK, added that, subject to consultation, planned to complete the cost cuts by the end of 2009.

National Express chief executive Richard Bowker said: “Looking ahead, the transport sector cannot be wholly immune from the global recession.

“While cautious about the economic outlook, we are taking the initiative to reduce costs across our UK operations and counteract any slowdown in growth.”

National Express added however that, despite the tough economic conditions, passenger revenues from its East Coast operation were up more than 9% so far this year, with a 5.5% improvement from the East Anglia franchise.

And the company described trading at its bus business as “robust”, with underlying revenues growth of 6%, while its coach business had seen growth remain steady at 5%.