(02 May 2015, 1:19 pm)citaro5284 wrote If the government wants to put the franchsies together, then there was going to be overlap, probably with a large number of back office systems like payroll, so I would have thought that this would not have came out of the blue unfortunately to some of the staff who work for either Southern or First Capital Connect when it was announced two would become one.

The chances of it happening, was high.
In a deal/scheme which is supposed to benefit the taxpayer, the amount of money spent on redundancies - is staggering.
Appreciate the initial costs will be from the employer, however the potential burden on the taxpayer and economy, could be enormous.