BT pulls the plug on 'backwater'

BT is closing Firstcall, its retraining and redeployment division, in a controversial move to save more than £30m a year. Firstcall was mocked by staff as a backwater for colleagues who could not be sacked and would not take redundancy.

But BT defended it, claiming that 1,000 people were retrained and redeployed during the last financial year.

Shutting the agency has infuriated BT executives. Pierre Danon, chief executive of BT Retail, is said by sources close to the company to be especially unhappy. He is trying to cut staff from his division to slash costs.

An insider said: 'I think most executives liked being able to shuffle people out of the way without having to sack them.'