MONEY
British Gas Cuts 1,300 Jobs, Claims You Love Chatbots
Centrica's CEO axed 1,300 jobs claiming customers love AI bots. Readers are calling total BS on the corporate spin.
The GuardianCentrica CEO Chris O'Shea justified cutting 1,300 call center and back-office jobs by claiming 90% of British Gas customers prefer digital channels over talking to a human. In a letter to The Guardian, reader Charles MacKinnon fired back, pointing out that companies intentionally bury phone numbers behind endless menu deflection while customers foot the bill for on-hold waiting time.
- Centrica cut 1,300 call center and back-office roles at British Gas.
- CEO Chris O'Shea claimed 90% of customers prefer digital chat to human interaction.
- Customer service call volume dropped by 20% according to company figures.
- Letter writer Charles MacKinnon argued finding a human phone number is purposely difficult, forcing customers onto digital channels.
WHY THIS MATTERSWHY THIS MATTERS: Every time a company replaces a human with a bot, your time becomes the unpaid labor keeping their profit margins fat. You waste minutes navigating useless loops while they trim payroll.