MPs grill Ovo boss over job cuts and furlough money

Stephen Fitzpatrick has been asked by an MP whether Ovo is doing “a favour” to employees being offered redundancy after he suggested that now is the “best time in a generation” to look for a new job.

The Ovo Group chief executive and founder was grilled on Tuesday (8 February) at the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee’s energy prices hearing about his company’s plans to offer redundancy to up to 2,000 employees.

The job axes were due to changes in consumer behaviour and the energy market, which had accelerated during the pandemic over the last two years, he said: “We simply can’t keep people on the payroll in jobs that are no longer needed.”

Fitzpatrick had earlier told the committee that Ovo is also creating 1,450 new roles in growth areas like software engineering, which will pay on average £34,000 – 24% higher than those being cut.

And he said Ovo had been contacted by “hundreds” of companies seeking staff after the announcing its redundancy programme in January.

“The thing the UK economy needs now more than ever is talent and access to labour. There are massive labour shortages.

“It’s the best time in a generation to be looking for a new job,” he said.

According to figures, published by the Office of National Statistics last month, the unemployment rate fell to 4.1% in September to November.

Responding to a question from committee member and Labour MP Charlotte Nichols whether he thought Ovo was doing its employees “a favour” by making them redundant, Fitzpatrick said a more skilled workforce would benefit the UK economy overall.

“Having better paid high skilled jobs is the only way to escape this low productivity trap.” he said.

Fitzpatrick was also asked by Scottish Nationalist Party MP Alan Brown to explain company accounts showing that in 2020 the company received £17 million in furlough money while making payments and loans worth more than £40 million to other companies that he owns.

The Ovo founder said that he did not recognise the £40 million figure and that the furlough money had all been used to pay staff.

Fitzpatrick also apologised afresh for advice for customers on cutting heating bills, which included performing star jumps to keep warm, which he admitted had been “ill-advised and insensitive and inappropriate”.