Here's everything the employment minister said about major companies moving jobs south out of city
The employment minister Dame Diana Johnson was in Sunderland today and was questioned by the Echo about the recent trend of some of the city’s major employers revealing plans to relocate jobs to London and the Midlands.
In January, Berghaus confirmed plans to relocate a number of its roles to its new hub in London, away from their current headquarters in Sunderland.
A spokesperson for parent company Pentland Brands said: “As part of our evolution, Pentland Brands has begun consultation with a number of employees across its UK offices (of which Sunderland is one), with some roles proposed to relocate to its new London Hub in Farringdon.”
In the same month (January) the GMB workers union has said over 300 jobs are potentially under threat after Asda has confirmed its plans to outsource its online George delivery service to a central DHL office in Derby - some 156 miles away from Washington.
This follows on from over 100 employees in Sunderland losing their jobs after RSA Insurance group confirmed in October (2025) it was closing its More Than insurance site office in Doxford Park.
In November (2025) Liebherr Sunderland Works Ltd confirmed proposed plans for closure of the Wearside site.
When questioned about this worrying recent trend, Dame Johnson said: “I’m the minister for employment and so I want all parts of the UK to have good well paid jobs.
“I know in this particular area you’ve got some big employers and a lot of investment going into tech industries and big investment around TV and film production with the Crownworks Studios, which could create 8,000 jobs in the future.
“So of course it’s disappointing to hear when jobs are moving, but I also think this area has a lot of potential and a mayor in Kim McGuinness who is really fighting for investment into this patch and I think that’s really important to.”
Recent figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that in December 2025 there were 0.4% fewer paid employees in the city compared to the same month in 2024.
Dame Johnson was in Sunderland to promote the Government’s new £1bn Crisis and Resilience Fund.