We contacted ntl for their version of events, and received the following reply from ntl spokesman Malcolm Padley:

A key focus for us is moving to a national organisation that will allow the front end Delivery Teams to focus on delivering the quantity of installations required at an ever improving quality and increased efficiency as measured by ourselves and our customers.

Currently we have both Area and Team Managers in the field managing relationships with our Contractor Partners, and in some areas of the country our Team Managers manage our own In-House Install Technicians. Following a thorough review of how we manage our Contractor interface, we have determined that we only require one point of contact and that means the current Team Manager role will no longer exist, apart from where we have our own In-House technicians to manage.

We will be introducing a new role of Install Contract Manager and we are also introducing the role of (8) Quality and Improvement Managers who will work on a national basis into the Head of Install Quality and Improvement.

Unfortunately this will mean the loss of approximately 50 jobs across the country. Those manager-level associates affected by these changes have been briefed and have now entered a period of consultation. Customers will not be impacted.