24 April 2007
The new owner of UK emergency services radio firm Airwave O2 has
closed the company's final salary pension scheme just one hour
after buying the company for £2bn.
Guardian Digital Communications, which is owned by Australian
bank Macquarie, unveiled the move just an hour after paying Spanish
firm Telefonica 2.98bn euros (c. £2.02bn) for Airwave. The
closure of the final salary scheme will affect 800 workers.
Macquarie said staff would stay in the O2 fund for six months
until a new Airwave plan could be created "with company
contributions at no less than those currently provided". It
anticipated the new pension package would be "attractive".
However, the Communication Workers Union said it was 'misled'
over the sale and warned of a possible industrial dispute.
