Welsh Conservatives have called for clarity over the First Minister’s call centre jobs mistake.
His announcement of 600 new jobs in Cardiff – made as Wales prepared to enter a local election campaign – has now been called a ‘misunderstanding’ by the company itself, Firstsource.
It is reported that the ‘vast majority’ of the jobs will be transferred from an existing operator.
Shadow Minister or Business Nick Ramsay AM said:
“This blunder puts the First Minister on very thin ice indeed.
“His announcement was made immediately before we entered a period of campaigning. Its promise of new jobs resulted in a series of good news messages and arguably gave the impression that his government was involved in some way.
“Now we are told it was all a misunderstanding. That’s a serious error that can’t be spun away with the word ‘semantics’ as the first minister has attempted. Either 600 jobs are coming – or they’re not.
“While I welcome the news that Firstsource is committed to Cardiff, the first minister should now clarify the remarks he made.”