Nationwide to permanently SHUT three Swindon offices
Around 3,000 staff in our region are going to be affected
Last updated 25th Mar 2021
One of Swindon's major employers has confirmed it's drastically cutting-back office space.
Nationwide is closing three sites in the town, responding to the shift towards remote working during the pandemic.
The estimated 3,000 staff who are based in the affected buildings will either move to the national HQ - also in Swindon - work from home, or follow a hybrid of both.
Despite the changes, Nationwide's new tech hub at Ramsbury House - located just over a mile north of Swindon town centre - is staying put.
The UK's biggest Building Society claims its new flexibility scheme will allow 13,000 staff across the country to "work anywhere" in the future.
57% of all Nationwide staff now want to work from home, according to the firm's survey. More than a third of respondents prefer a blended approach, operating in the office and at home.
'We are now deciding to move forward, not back'
Joe Garner, Chief Executive of Nationwide Building Society, said: “The last year has taught many of us that ‘how’ we do our jobs is much more important than ‘where’ we do them from.
"We have listened and learned, and we are now deciding to move forward, not back. We are putting our employees in control of where they work from, inviting them to ‘locate for their day’ depending on what they need to achieve.
"Our data suggests that working in a home environment encourages us to think more about the impact on others when making decisions.
"As a member-owned organisation, we encourage a focus on humanity, while embracing technology".
Another blow for Swindon's economy?
In short, it's too early to tell.
The prospect of more empty Swindon buildings is concerning, as the town looks to recover from the Coronavirus crisis.
One of our region's other business heavyweights, Honda, has already confirmed the closure of its South Marston car plant in July. This move will make almost 3,000 workers redundant.
Furthermore, in November 2020, the firm running Swindon's Oasis Leisure Centre announced it would not be re-opening the site after lockdown.
GLL claimed the site was no longer "viable" and said the contracted Oasis employees were being redeployed to "alternative facilities".
However, as things stand, the changes at Nationwide aren't leading to any jobs being lost.