Several companies have jobs for workers who will be unemployed as of June when HSBC’s call centre in Swatar folds, Economy Minister Silvio Schembri told Times of Malta.

Schembri said that a large call centre which is currently expanding its operations has informed the government it has 70 vacancies for call centre workers, two banks are keen to recruit 10 each and several gaming companies are also looking to employ workers in their customer care departments.

Around 200 workers will be losing their jobs when the HSBC call centre shuts down next summer. Shocked workers were given the news at a meeting held on Thursday. They were told the centre was being closed as part of a wider restructuring exercise. 

The Economy Ministry had immediately said that it would be helping workers to find another job.  

It remains unclear how many of the affected workers already have new jobs lined up for them.

While the minister cited 100-odd vacancies when speaking to Times of Malta|, he told Labour-owned TV station ONE that "all" the laid-off workers had potential new jobs after he made "a few phone calls in literally one-and-a-half hours". 

The Swatar call centre serves HSBC UK bank customers and is distinct to the bank's Malta operations. 

It is operated by HSBC Global Services (UK) Limited Malta Branch (HSMB), locally known as HSBC Swatar Contact Centre.

Sources said that although the prospect of the centre being closed had been on the horizon for many months, none of the staff members saw it coming.

A worker told Times of Malta that all call centre workers were summoned into a meeting. “People were in tears... it's so shocking. They are just shutting the whole thing down. Everybody is in shock. It's not good for Malta,” the worker said.

"Staff who have mortgages and home loans with HSBC are worried as they are concerned their rate will go up and third country nationals are very worried because of work permits."

It is understood that around 60 of them are Maltese nationals.