LONDON: Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is to close its regional offices in Northern Ireland and operate from a single facility in Belfast.
Offices in Newry, Coleraine, Craigavon, Enniskillen, Lisburn and Londonderry will close between 2016 and 2021.
HMRC said it is phasing the closures to “allow staff time to make choices for their future” and reduce redundancies.
It is part of a wider move which will see the agency consolidate its staff across 13 regional centres in the UK.
The closure of the Newry office had been announced last year.
In 2013, HMRC also began a voluntary redundancy scheme for some staff Enniskillen, Londonderry, Newry and Belfast.
HMRC expects between 1,300 and 1,600 full-time equivalent employees to work in the Belfast regional centre.
Lin Homer, HMRC’s chief executive, said: “The new regional centre in Belfast will bring our staff together in more modern and cost-effective buildings in an area with lower rent.
“It will also make a big contribution to the economy of Northern Ireland providing high-quality, skilled jobs and supporting the government’s commitment to a national recovery that benefits all parts of the UK.”
