Fears Grow of More Job Losses at UK ISP Origin Broadband

Over the past couple of weeks a number of sources have contacted ISPreview.co.uk to alleged that Doncaster-based budget ISP Origin Broadband may be in the process of conducting a new redundancy consultation, which it’s claimed could result in the further loss of around 20 to 30 jobs.

At present Origin, which in January 2018 announced (here) a number of redundancies after going through a multi-million pound private investment fuelled growth spurt (to “create a more agile and sustainable business for future growth“), is believed to employ more than 100 people (the last official figure at the start of this year was 149).

Now some of those who first informed us about the original redundancy situation earlier this year have been back in contact again to claim that another round of job losses may be imminent, which they say could be confirmed by around mid-December 2018 (possibly a cost cutting move).

We have been attempting to get a comment from Origin Broadband since last week and were initially told by their marketing manager that they had been unable to find anybody who could give us a statement, although we were promised an update. Since then we have tried several times to secure an update but have so far been met with silence.

The situation, if confirmed, would come shortly after the ISP opted to give some of their customers just 30 days’ notice to find a new ISP before being disconnected due to a “network restructure outside of our control” (here). At the time Origin said that this only affected a “very small percentage of users” and some sources alleged that around 3,000 to 4,000 subscribers may have received the notice.

The company’s most recent accounts (next one due Dec 2018), which covered the year to the end of March 2017 (here), revealed that Origin generated a loss for the period of -£2.15m (compared with -£1.23m in 2015). This was attributed to their “ongoing investment in headcount, premises and infrastructure needed to support a growing level of sales,” which they hoped would eventually move them into more positive territory.