Ideal Shopping Direct moves call centre to India

TV shopping and mail order group Ideal Shopping Direct is closing its UK order-taking call centre. It is outsourcing the Peterborough operation to a third party in India, resulting in the loss of 150 British jobs.

Chairman Paul Wright said the 24-hour home shopping retailer found it increasingly difficult to attract 'the quality and quantity of call centre staff needed to cover all shifts'.

Wright said: 'Staff turnover in this important area of our business has historically been, and continues to run, at 45 per cent, a level that is putting unacceptable levels of stress on the efficiency of this important customer-facing operation.'

However, the customer service function will be retained at Ideal Shopping Direct's Peterborough headquarters.