Oxford University Press confirms proposals have potential to 'impact' Kettering jobs

A word-famous publishing house, that has a base on a Kettering industrial park, has confirmed that proposed changes in the company will impact jobs at the site.

Oxford University Press (OUP) based on the ProLogis Park in Hipwell Road, has a warehouse distribution where their trading and ordering services are managed.

The company has been based in north Northamptonshire for 40 years with OUP moving from Corby in 2011 to a bespoke HQ on ProLogis park close to Glendon.

It is believed that the restructure is planned for the customer service and office staff at the distribution centre.

An Oxford University Press spokesman said: "We are proposing some changes on the basis of the significant education market changes in the past year, trends that we see continuing into the future.

"As such, we have proposed an approach that better equips OUP to meet the needs of learners, teachers and parents, and offers some positive opportunities for our employees.

"The proposals have the potential to impact a small number of roles in Kettering."

In his end of year letter published in December 2020, Nigel Portwood, CEO, Oxford University Press had set out the publisher's move to digital products.

He said: "The defining trend in education and research this year has, of course, been the acceleration towards digital.

"At OUP, we’ve been on the journey of digital transformation—along with many other publishers—for some time. The sudden need to provide digital products and services to enable education and research to continue during lockdowns meant we had to accelerate this work."

In 2011, 28 million books were transferred from Corby to Kettering to stock their new massive warehouse facility to keep up with demand.

A source speaking to the Northants Telegraph said: "We have been told that 46 jobs are at risk of redundancy at the Educational Supply Section offices based in Kettering.

"We have been told the restructure is to make the business more "customer-centric" and that is not for financial reasons as none of the staff have been furloughed.

"In one office there are six available roles down from 21. My job is at risk and I'm very nervous because of with the pandemic it's a worrying time."

OUP publish academic and educational material in more than 40 languages from pre-school to post graduates.

The policy of Oxford University Press is overseen by a group of delegates appointed from the academic staff of the University of Oxford..

The delegates appoint a finance committee that acts in the same way as the board of directors of a company.