Union slams ‘draconian’ Thomas Cook cuts

The mergered Thomas Cook/MyTravel is to close 150 travel agencies and cut up to 2,800 staff – a sixth of the workforce

Transport union the TSSA condemned the cuts as “draconian” as one in six of thw workforce will lose their jobs with the clsure of MyTravel’s Rochdale headquarters with the loss of 1,000 staff. 

General secretary Gerry Doherty, calling for urgent talks with the company, said: “This is much worse than we had feared. It is terrible news for Rochdale and the North West and will also be bad news for consumers across the UK for it will mean less choice in the high street when it comes to holiday bookings.”

He added: “We warned when the German owned Thomas Cook announced this merger in February that it would be the british workforce that would pay the pirce because of our wealer labour laws. This has now come to pass. We will do all that we can to minimise job losses.”

As reported by TravelMole on Monday, the Thomas Cook Group’s divisional head office will be in Peterborough, with six other MyTravel sites to shut.

The retail network is being reviewed with a view to reducing the network by 150 stores to around 800 stores the company said. Thomas Cook will be retained as the main retail brand with the Going Places name “retained in certain locations where it is advantageous to do so”. 

Under the proposals the following sites may close: Rochdale – Holiday House, (head office) Manchester Airport – Commonwealth House (airline operations), Manchester – Lloyds House, (specialist call centre), Helmshore (holidays division and customer support functions),  Birmingham (call centre), and Denton (distribution warehouse).

It is proposed that the business will operate from sites in Peterborough – Coningsby Road (UK & Ireland head office), Manchester Airport Hangar 1 (airline operations), Bradford – Aldermanbury (holidays division and customer support functions), Accrington – the Globe Centre (call centre), Falkirk – Central Park (call centre), Glasgow – Granite House (call centre), Brighton – Locksview, (specialist tour operations), and Birkenshaw (distribution warehouse).

“It is proposed that the main retail brand would be Thomas Cook, with the Going Places brand retained in towns that will have more than one store,” a statement said, confirming plans to make savings of £95 million.

“The company expects that if the proposals go ahead, an estimated 2,500-2,800

roles will ultimately be affected.

“The Group has stressed to employees that where possible redeployment opportunities will be offered to all affected staff.”