The closure of Legal & General’s flagship office in Kingswood will create a £21m black hole in Surrey’s economy, the Unite union has argued.
Protesting Unite members are to present an independent impact report to the L&G board at the company’s headquarters in London today (19 January).
The union has commissioned the independent local impact assessment, which analyses the cost of closing the Kingswood site in terms of lost wages, the knock-on impact to local business, and the increase in welfare support for those made redundant.
Ian Methven, Unite regional officer, said: “Our independent report reveals that L&G are prepared to rip a £21 million black hole in to the local economy, a bitter reward for the seventy years that Kingswood has provided a home for the company to prosper.
“This dispute is a damning example of how a company can completely squander its relationship with both staff and the community in pursuit of meagre savings,” he said.
“We are calling on the Legal & General board recognise their social responsibility and to work with Unite to consider all options for keeping Kingswood open.”
After considering a variety of scenarios, the report revealed that the total cost of closure in terms of lost wages and increases in welfare payments would be £36m, while the knock-on impact on the local economy was found to be over £21m.
An L&G spokesman said: “We are surprised and disappointed by the actions of central Unite, especially as only 15 per cent of Kingswood employees voted to take any sort of industrial action, short of a strike.
“Kingswood Unite representatives have negotiated terms to allow every employee to ‘follow their job’, with relocation expenses and allowances, should Kingswood close, and their roles move to Hove or Cardiff.
“If Kingswood employees are unable to move to new locations, or be redeployed, severance packages have been agreed with the local Unite representatives.
“Going forward, we hope central Unite will listen to their local members and work with their local Unite officials to get the best outcome for their members, should the site close.”
Today’s protest outside L&G headquarters follows a 67 per cent vote in support of industrial action by L&G members in Kingswood, following L&G’s decision to close the profitable Kingswood site in next year.
Unite has been campaigning since September to keep the site open. In response L&G have sought to postpone the closure and have offered staff the option of relocation to sites across the country.
katherine.denham@ft.com
