Welsh Water to cut up to 500 jobs in major restructure
Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water has announced plans to cut up to 500 jobs as part of a major restructuring programme over the next two years.
The not-for-profit utility, which employs around 4,000 people, said the move represents a 12% reduction in its workforce. The company stressed that the losses will mainly affect ‘back office’ and managerial roles, with frontline water and wastewater services expected to be protected.
The transformation programme will run for 18–24 months and is designed to reduce costs, improve efficiency, and direct more customer money into network investment and environmental improvements. Welsh Water said it will also focus on using technology and data to redesign processes and ways of working.
The company highlighted financial pressures on the water sector, including recent credit rating downgrades and increased infrastructure investment requirements following Ofwat’s price review.
Pete Perry, Chief Executive of Welsh Water, said: “Customers rightly expect us to invest in improving our services and to keep our own costs to a minimum – and that’s exactly what this programme will achieve. Our customers’ expectations have changed significantly in recent years, as have our regulatory requirements, and as a company we need to adapt. With customers’ bills increasing, we have challenged ourselves hard to reduce our own costs to ensure every pound we spend brings benefit to customers and maintains our financial resilience during a challenging period for the sector.
“I fully recognise that this will be an unsettling time for colleagues affected. We have not undertaken changes on this scale for more than a decade, and we will handle the process with care, compassion, and fairness. Wherever possible, we will prioritise voluntary exits, retraining, and redeployment, and we will work closely with our trade unions and provide full support to every colleague impacted.
“We are acting now so we can protect services for customers, investing more in our networks and the environment, and ensure that as much of our customers’ money as possible goes into the things that matter most: reliable water and wastewater services and support when people need us.”
In May, the Senedd heard wide-ranging criticism of Welsh Water over rising bills, executive pay, and environmental performance. Members highlighted a £1.3m fine for failing to monitor water quality, concerns over sewage discharges – more than 118,000 in a single year – and described customers as facing some of the highest bill increases in the UK while services were falling short. Opposition MSs called for greater accountability, with some describing executive pay levels as “scandalous” and pollution levels as “so disgraceful”.
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