Member Article

Sunderland’s Gentoo warns of ‘inevitable’ job losses following government cuts

Gentoo has warned its staff to expect “inevitable redundancies” as part of a plan to balance the books.

The Sunderland-headquartered housing company, which manages 30,000 properties and employs 2,000 people, needs to save £18m a year for the next four years to make up an estimated £72m funding shortfall.

Chief Executive Peter Walls said the government’s recent reductions in social housing rents and welfare reforms have had “implications” on the business, he commented: “Unfortunately, current estimates are showing that we will need to make savings in the region of £18m per year, over four years.

“It is with great regret that a significant proportion of these savings will need to come from our employee costs and this will inevitably result in staff redundancies. Being a responsible business is important to us and our staff are the heart of the Group. We really value our workforce and their input and as such want to inform and involve them in this process as early as possible.

“We are currently working through what the extent of this looks like and over what timeframe. Our final plan needs to be agreed by our board during October as we are required by our Regulator to submit a revised Group Business Plan to the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) by 30 October 2015.

“This is a very difficult time, however we will work with staff and our Union colleagues to mitigate the impact of this as much as possible.

“Delivering a quality service to our customers remains our priority and we will ensure Gentoo remains fit for the future and that our service continues to be centred on our customers and their needs.”

Unison, which represents the majority of Gentoo’s staff, said it was aware of the group’s announcement and is currently considering the implications it will bring.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .