British Gas owner Centrica to cut 1,300 jobs, interim profit drops

Thu, July 23, 2026 at 7:50 AM UTC

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July 23 (Reuters) - British Gas owner Centrica said on Thursday it would cut about 1,300 jobs in a cost efficiency drive, after reporting first-half profit dropped 18% as asset sales, outages and unfavourable weather squeezed margins.

The job cuts, some of which have already been completed, include a proposed reduction of about 500 contact-based staff in customer operations and fewer outsourced offshore positions.

Warmer-than-normal weather and challenging conditions, including volatile energy markets due to the Iran war, have weighed on Centrica's margins, even as it pushed ahead with the sale of non-core assets and concentrated on LNG-related infrastructure.

"Volatility across energy markets has created challenges in some parts of our business, and some of our delivery has been slower than we would like," said Chief Executive Chris O’Shea.

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Centrica's adjusted core profit dropped 18% to £737 million for the six months to June 30, mainly due to the impact of Spirit Energy asset disposals and production outages, with the warm weather and weak market conditions pressuring margins.

Shares in the firm dropped more than 4%, leading losses on the FTSE 100 index as at 0710 GMT.

The energy firm said it was also accelerating its transformation programme, expected to cost about £600 million ($802.68 million), by increasing investment in AI, digital services and technology upgrades as it seeks to lower costs and simplify operations.

($1 = £0.7475 )

(Reporting by Anushka Chourasia, Ankita Bora and Raechel Thankam Job in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Kate Mayberry)

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Source: “AOL Money”