ANGRY workers at a data firm have slammed plans to close its Wrexham base and “outsource jobs to India”.

Up to 300 workers with Refinitiv, formerly the financial and risk business of Thomson Reuters, are facing losing their jobs with the company blaming its decision on financial pressures and the need to “ensure they have the right people in the right places”.

Staff at Refinitiv’s offices, based at Redwither Tower on the Wrexham Industrial Estate, claim some of their work is being moved to Bangalore where a delegation from North Wales has been sent to train up the local workforce.

They say the Wrexham site had earned a reputation as a centre of excellence.

One financial analyst with eight years service, who did not wish to be named, said: "There was a lot of anger when we were told. We have had our own people out in Bangalore who are training the workers there to do our jobs.

"The company says they want the right people in the right places to deliver results for customers, yet they are sending the work to where the standards of accuracy is as low as 60 per cent. All the work we do in Wrexham is checked by one or two people, this is technical information about financial institutions for which due diligence is done.

"We suspected the worse after we had a big meeting when the take-over took place and there was a celebration on the company intranet, but there was no mention of Wrexham.

"There is talk about the technical department moving to Nottingham, but it is not practical for many to be redeployed from Wrexham."

Another worker with three years' service said: "There are people here who have done this job for years and it is one where the kind of knowledge and experience that is involved would be difficult to transfer well."

A 45-day consultation period is under way and Unite is holding talks with local management. It is understood Refinitiv is planning a phased withdrawal from Wrexham, although no decision has been made about when the site will close.

Wrexham MP Ian Lucas called for an urgent debate over ‘predatory’ business takeovers when he addressed the House of Commons.

Previously known as Avox, the company only began trading as Refinitiv on October 1 after private equity firm Blackstone's $20 billion buy-out of Thomson Reuters' data business with 22,000 staff transferring over.

The MP said: “My constituents have been made redundant having in the last 10 years taken forward a business originally called Avox then DTCC. But now a company called Refinitiv has taken the business over and made 300 people redundant and off-shored the jobs to India."

Wrexham Assembly Member Lesley Griffiths, a Welsh Government cabinet member, says she is "shocked and extremely disappointed" about the manner in which the job cuts were announced.

“The company, under its various guises, had worked hard to embed itself in the local community but this decision has completely undermined their previous actions. I am hoping to speak with the company’s managing director as soon as possible," said the AM.

Refinitiv spokesman Louis Auty said: "We are in consultation with our workforce and we are committed to ensuring those affected are properly supported through this process."