Isle of Man Steam Packet to close Belfast contact centre

The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company will close their Belfast contact centre in March and eight permanent staff will be offered redundancy packages.

Mark Woodward chief executive said: “On behalf of the company I would like to thank our staff in Belfast for their dedicated service over many years. It is with sadness this decision has been made but the scale of the operation has made this closure and consolidation inevitable.”

In recent years the number of customers booking online has risen to 65% which resulted in the decrease of permanent employees in Belfast.  Call levels have fallen from 736,000 in 2003 to 223,000 in 2007.

As a result the company has decided to relocate the call centre to it’s Douglas headquarters. The new location will be in the Sea Terminal in Douglas where staff will combine contact centre and check in duties.

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To be issued 21 January 2008

For further enquiries please contact Laura Howland communications manager at The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company Tel 01624 645637 or 07624 485529.