AN Indian call centre company that last night took over a Barclaycard operation in the North-East admitted it had plans to move some of the 700 jobs abroad.

A Barclaycard spokesman hailed the five-year agreement with Mumbai-based Firstsource Solutions as “a great deal” for its customers and staff.

Firstsource, which recently opened a contact centre at Fountain Court, in Middlesbrough, will take charge of Barclaycard’s credit card and payment office in Stockton from November 1. It was unable to confirm how many jobs were under threat but expects some of the existing Teesside jobs to be moved offshore.

The agreement follows a period of consultation between representatives of the two companies and the trade union Unite to agree a package of terms and conditions that will see about 700 Barclaycard workers become employees of Firstsource. The firm claims that, following a union ballot, 96 per cent of respondents voted in favour of the proposed terms.

From next month, Firstsource will enter into discussions with the 700 staff which will see them employed on either the Barclaycard contract, or offered roles in other parts of Firstsource’s business, with some workers facing the possibility of redundancy.

Sean Canning, Firstsource UK operations director, commented: “Let me be honest, there will be some roles moved offshore over the term of the five-year contract. We are committed to maintaining a significant presence in Teesside.

“I am convinced this is a great deal for all parties. We are delighted to secure this agreement with Barclaycard and we will now focus on delivering an even better service to its customers."

James Cook, for Barclaycard, said: “It was essential for us to agree a deal that was good for our staff, customers and made sense for us as a business. It allows us to rationalise costs while offering an improved level of service.

Firstsource are experts in this field.”

Barclaycard will continue to employ about 200 workers at the Stockton site.