A TELECOMS firm has been warned not to squander thousands of North-East jobs as its plots a £12.5bn bid for the UK’s biggest mobile network group.

BT is in negotiations to take over operator EE, which has offices in Darlington, Doxford, in Sunderland, and Cobalt Business Park, near Newcastle.

Bosses say the move would improve services and cut costs, but have highlighted potential changes to back office operations, leaving EE’s regional workforce facing an anxious Christmas.

Darlington MP Jenny Chapman last night urged bosses not to waste its North-East staff, citing the company’s importance as the town’s largest private employer with about 2,000 call centre workers.

BT told The Northern Echo it was too early to comment on any changes, with weeks of due diligence now under way.

It added any deal for EE would create an expanded organisation covering fixed-lines phones, mobiles and TV, as well as giving it access to the UK’s most advanced 4G network, which delivers instant internet roaming.

But Mrs Chapman said while she was not seeking an immediate meeting with the firm, which televises Premier League football on its BT Sport channel, she would act if it wasted EE workers’ skills.

She said: “EE is the most significant employer in Darlington, so I’ll be watching developments incredibly closely.

“Talks are at an early stage and we don’t know yet what the outcome will be.

“But my job, should the deal go ahead, is to make sure Darlington staff are not squandered by a huge corporation that fails to recognise the skills and experience they have built up over many years.

“I have no doubts they have an edge.

“This is such an established site, and at the very least, the people employed here should be regarded on an equal footing with BT workers.”

In a statement, BT outlined its reasons for targeting EE, which runs the T-Mobile and Orange brands, saying it would add to its services while lowering costs.

It added: “We expect significant similarities, mainly through network and IT rationalisation, back-office consolidation and savings on procurement, marketing and sales costs.

“In addition, we expect to generate revenues through selling fixed-line services to those EE customers who don’t currently take a service from BT.”

Earlier this year, EE, which uses Hollywood actor Kevin Bacon to advertise its products, revealed plans to bring more than 1,000 call centre posts back to the UK.

At the time, it said it hadn’t ruled out moving the positions to the North-East, though did confirm 250 roles would go to Northern Ireland.