Commenting on E.ON's decision to axe 450 jobs in Scotland and the West Midlands, the Prospect union urged talks with senior managers on a job security policy to reduce the need for redundancies, including cutting the number of contractor posts and voluntary redeployment for those losing their jobs.

On top of a further 770 roles to be lost by ‘natural attrition’ in retail over the next 12 months, this means that E.ON is scheduled to lose more than 1,200 jobs in 2009.

On behalf of 2,000 professional workers in E.ON, National Secretary Emily Boase said: "We want to work with the company to minimise the need for redundancies. Where job losses have to take place they must be on a voluntary basis.

"We are all aware of the difficult market conditions at the moment. These give the lie to claims that utility companies are immune from the effects of the economic downturn, especially the slump in the housing market."But our members will want to know that E.ON has got its retail business strategy right so that no further job losses are needed.

"We are also pressing the company that it needs to retain key specialist skills in commercial retail operations so that E.ON does not harm its long-term prospects when recovery gets under way."

Prospect will be seeking details of the job losses and which posts are to go at meetings with senior managers. Prospect is concerned that the losses amount to a significant proportion of the retail workforce and will seek to use the consultation process to reduce the number of jobs lost.