Net consultancy warns of massive white collar redundancies

NEWS The UK's first Internet consultancy made its debut yesterday with a horrifying set of statistics about the decline of traditional customer services. NVision predicts that 50 per cent of front-line service jobs will have vanished by 2010. Roland Hanbury, VP of Intellectual Assets for NVision, said that on the basis of 100 case studies, shop assistants and clerical workers will give way to a new generation of Web-based marketing and customer service employees. He added: "OK, so this is a wet finger in the air type of statistic - but we are completely confident that trend is there." NVision's CEO, Michael Walton, added: "We hope that companies will retrain their employees. But looking at the example of Barclays, we fear that they will find it easier and quicker to simply fire people." The consultancy is advising boards of directors to start planning for the future, to minimise disruption as ecommerce takes off. Hanbury also said many firms have a lot to learn about technology in general. "Most companies still believe that information is power - and that sharing it reduces an employee's chances of promotion. We have a toolkit of strategies for changing that kind of culture."