National Express to cut 750 Jobs

Although rail and bus company National Express has said pretax profits are expected to meet market expectations, it will look to cut 750 jobs to save costs next year. The group, which employs some 18,000 in the UK, said the job cuts, expected to be predominantly in back office and support areas, will provide it with an annualised savings of more than £15m.

Following strong revenue growth this year through to September, National Express said it continued to perform well in the final quarter, although it noted revenues have begun to soften. It reported underlying revenue growth of 6% in its UK bus business, 5% in the National Express coach business and 9.5% growth in its rail division.

The group said strong performance in cross country routes has offset lower revenues on its Stansted airport services. Despite revenue growth through the year, National Express reported its rail business is starting to see the impact of the weakening UK economy.

The announced job cuts at National Express come after the Government revealed today that unemployment in the UK is rising fast, approaching levels not seen in almost a decade and rising at a pace comparable to 1991, according to some reports. The National Office of Statistics said the number of unemployed in the country numbered 1.86 million in the three months to October 2008, a rise of 137,000 from the three months to July. 2008.

From >Hemscott