Energy firm Npower have announced its plan to cut thousands of jobs in a bid to make the company more profitable, with all of its eight sites under threat of closure.

The jobs cuts come after 16 energy firms have already collapsed since last year, with Npower’s parent company E.On reporting a £2 billion loss in its first nine months of the year.

The energy giant provides thousands of people across the UK with jobs, but is struggling with the pressures of the current UK market.

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E.On UK chief executive Michael Lewis told the BBC: “The economics of the UK energy retail market has been made incredibly challenging by the price cap.”

The price cap was introduced by the UK government earlier this year.

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Npower is under the umbrella of the ‘Big Six’ energy firms in the UK, all of which have stated strong criticism of newly introduced price caps.

The company’s union, GMB, has responded to the announcement with distain, laying blame on price caps for impacting the energy firm and Npower itself:

“Government has to urgently wake up to the impact that the price cap is having on good and reasonably well-paid jobs in UK energy companies.”

As usual my employer announces bad news to the press about our jobs before they tell us.

Npower expected to cut 4,500 UK jobs https://t.co/weqQ58Gk5O

— Joe 🐝 (@BeeOnTheHill) November 29, 2019

https://twitter.com/Selenethoa/status/1200375868037750785

“Npower is a poorly managed company with significant losses in the UK but it’s always the workers that face the brunt of poor management”

Npower’s eight sits include: Leeds, Hull, Worcester, Swindon, Solihull, Birmingham, Sudbury and Oldbury. Although there is no indication of how each will be affected.

Words: Ferris Shaw | Subbing: Dan Taylor | Featured Image: Stevepb