Plan to lay off 95 staff at mapping service Ordnance Survey ‘makes no sense’

A union has criticised plans to make almost 100 redundancies at mapping service Ordnance Survey.

Prospect said laying off 95 skilled staff was “short sighted” and counter to the Government’s growth mission.

Negotiations officer Nick Radiven said: “The data Ordnance Survey provides is essential when new homes and infrastructure are being built so it makes no sense to make these cuts at a time when growth is a priority.

“Prospect is calling on Ordnance Survey and the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology to sit down with us and to explore alternatives to the planned redundancies, including increased central funding and looking at other alternative sources of revenue.”

The Southampton-based organisation has 1,400 employees.

Chief executive Nick Bolton said: “We have undertaken a comprehensive review of our operating model as part of Ordnance Survey’s new strategic direction.

“This work concluded that we needed to simplify our business to focus on our core task of delivering Great Britain’s National Mapping Service, and providing location data and expertise to underpin critical economic and government activities.

“This has meant stopping doing some things and changing the way we do others. This has involved a thorough review of every area within OS, and as a result, we have made the difficult decision to reduce our workforce.

“We appreciate the dedication and contributions of all our employees. This decision was not made lightly, and we understand the impact it will have on our employees and their families.

“We are committed to working closely with our trade unions and will support our impacted colleagues throughout this process.

“Our goal is to ensure the long-term sustainability of Ordnance Survey and to continue delivering high-quality data and services to the nation. We believe these changes will position us more effectively to navigate the current market challenges and emerge stronger in the future.”