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Royal Caribbean to move its call centre to Guatemala
Royal Caribbean is planning to shrink its UK and Ireland guest and trade services centre with the loss of up to 100 jobs as it looks to split its organisation into three individual businesses; Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises.
The company said the move would allow it to address "efficiency challenges that are common in any business that has experienced rapid global expansion".
As part of the changes, the company will consolidate its 11 global guest and trade services centres into just three centres operated by an external partner, Xerox.
The UK and Ireland guest and trade service centre for Royal Caribbean and Azamara, currently based in Addlestone in Surrey, will be operated by a multi-lingual team based in Guatemala, which will handle calls from both the public and the travel trade.
"Unfortunately this proposal is likely to mean some redundancies and today in the UK and Ireland RCL has begun a period of consultation with potentially affected employees," it said in a statement.
A company spokeswoman said a small number of roles within the guest and trade services teams for the two brands will be retained in the UK. There are currently 290 people employed by RCL in the UK and Ireland.
When the new brand structure comes into place in January 2014, Celebrity Cruises will have a dedicated UK and Ireland call centre based in Addlestone, employing about 50 people.
"All of the proposed changes are being reviewed in order to best position the business for future growth, whilst maintaining a competitive edge and strong customer service for trade partners and guests," added the company.
The new company structure will see associate vice president and general manager Jo Rzymowska become managing director of Celebrity Cruises while separate managing directors will be appointed for Royal Caribbean and Azamara.
Each of the three brands will have their own separate commercial, marketing and sales teams but Dominic Paul will remain as vice president for Europe, Middle East and Africa for all three brands.
by Linsey McNeill
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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