Of this total, 75 will be in-house IT support based at the Rayleigh call centre, at the energy company's Coventry headquarters and its office in Kingswinford, West Midlands.

While some of the IT job losses will be a direct result of the closure of the call centre in June, said that the other IT cuts are being made as a consequence of an ongoing internal review of the business' performance and efficiency.

Some 125 people will also lose their jobs in E.ON's Energy Services business.

Graham Bartlett, managing director of E.ON's Retail business, said: "The decision to close the Rayleigh site was not a move that we've taken lightly."

A spokesperson for the company said that it had started full consultations with all the unions in all the sectors, including Unite, Unison and Prospects, on Wednesday.