British Gas owner Centrica plans to cut about 1,300 jobs as the energy supplier expands its use of digital services and artificial intelligence.

The reductions include 800 roles announced Thursday and 500 customer service positions disclosed last month. The cuts will affect teams in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Leicester, Stockport, and Leeds over the next two years, according to a Guardian report. 

Some positions will be removed through staff departures, while others will involve redundancies.

Centrica CEO Chris O’Shea said AI was not the primary reason for the reductions, despite union concerns that chatbots were replacing employees. He said more than 90% of customers now use digital channels first and that customer calls have declined by 20%.

O’Shea said Centrica expects to add more roles supporting its digital services while reducing the number of employees handling calls. The planned cuts represent about 14% of the affected customer service teams.

The announcement came as Centrica reported an 18% decline in adjusted core profit to £737 million during the first half of 2026, citing asset sales, production outages, warmer weather, and volatility across energy markets. Centrica shares fell as much as 10% following the results.

Centrica’s retail division performed better, with profit rising to £346 million from £338 million a year earlier. The number of British Gas domestic customers declined to 7.45 million from 7.5 million at the end of 2025 as the company prioritized margins on fixed price tariffs over customer growth.

British Gas is also implementing a settlement package worth up to £112.4 million following an Ofgem investigation into its treatment of customers who had prepayment meters installed without permission. 

The package includes a £20 million redress payment, up to £70 million in debt write offs, compensation for affected customers, and the remaining funds from a £22.4 million support program.