Firm announces 400 call centre jobs

The call centre opened in Liverpool in 2000

An outsourcing services firm has announced it is to almost double the size of its Liverpool operation with 400 new jobs.

German firm arvato services made the announcement on Wednesday to expand its state-of-the-art call centre in the city's Cunard Building.

Formerly known as Bertelsmann, the company provides a range of outsourced services, including call centres, for companies in a range of industries.

The Merseyside contact centre initially opened two years ago with 90 employees. With this announcement, the workforce has become 10 times bigger since 2000.

Chief executive Asif Hamid said the 400 call centre agents will be recruited over the next year, as the company targets more UK-based firms.

He said Merseyside is the ideal place for the firm to grow, because of the excellent pool of available skilled labour.

Mr Hamid also believes regional accents, such as Liverpool's, are in big demand.