Genesis Energy has told its staff that it is considering cutting 200 jobs from the retail arm of its business.

The company employed 1291 staff as of June 30, most of whom worked in its retail division selling electricity and gas to consumers and businesses from the company’s offices in Auckland and Hamilton.

The company’s retail business has been steadily growing. Genesis simultaneously announced to the NZX on Friday that it has taken on a net 4934 customers in the three months to the end of September.

That suggests it is either considering automating or outsourcing some of its customer-service functions.

Genesis declined to comment further while it consults with staff.

But its statement to the NZX says the review of its retail operations could see the job losses spread between both the year ending June 30 and the following year, which suggests automation rather than outsourcing is behind the review.

Chief retail officer Stephen England-Hall says part of the strategy review is looking at how to “simplify the retail business” and ensure resources were focused in the right areas to support customers.

Chief executive Malcolm Johns said in August that Genesis was investing in “technology-driven productivity growth” to control its operating costs.

England-Hall is one of three recent additions to Genesis’ executive team.

Johns says England-Hall understood “high-value, low-cost customer service models” while fellow new hire, chief transformation and technology officer Edward Hyde, brought “deep experience in introducing technology platforms, data and artifical intelligence into businesses to drive deep productivity growth”.

The company, which is 51 per cent state-owned, posted in August what it described as a “very strong" financial result.

Its net profit for the year to the end of June slipped 12 per cent to $195 million for the year to the end June, but its operating profit which it views as a better guide to changes in its underlying performance, rose 19 per cent to $523m.

The generation arm of its business has faced its challenges over the past few months after the largest of its gas turbines at its Huntly Power Station had to be taken offline for lengthy repairs.

-Tom Pullar-Strecker/Stuff.