Thomas Cook Job Losses ‘Worse Than Feared’
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www.telegraph.co.uk Thomas Cook Group - the travel giant formed from last week’s merger of Thomas Cook and MyTravel – is to cut nearly a sixth of its UK workforce and close 150 high street stores as part of its integration programme. The company announced today that it would cut between 2,500 and 2,800 jobs, shutting MyTravel’s head office in Rochdale, Lancashire, as well as other offices in Manchester and Birmingham. Trade unions said the job losses were “worse than feared” and could lead to less choice for holidaymakers. Manny Fontenla-Novoa, joint chief executive of Thomas Cook, said: “As many as possible of those whose roles are potentially affected by today’s news will be offered the opportunity for redeployment within the business, as we are absolutely committed to retaining the skills and experience of all our workforce.” Those employees who are unable, or do not want to be redeployed will be provided with “appropriate redundancy packages and full support”, he said. The Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) said the job cuts were “worse than feared” and would hit the North-West particularly badly, with 1,000 employees facing redundancy in Rochdale alone. The union argued that Thomas Cook, which was a subsidiary of German retailer KarstadtQuelle before the merger, was taking advantage of Britain’s more relaxed labour regulations to shed jobs in the UK, rather than Germany. Gerry Doherty, general secretary of the TSSA, said: “This 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 the British workforce that would pay the price because of our weaker labour laws.” The TSSA said it was seeking to minimise job losses and would hold talks with executives at Thomas Cook’s Peterborough headquarters tomorrow. Thomas Cook’s rivals First Choice and Tui are also merging, as growing competition from budget airlines and websites drive consolidation in the industry.
Mr Doherty said that the recent spate of mergers leaves only two major players left on the high street: Thomas Cook and Thomson, which is owned by Tui. “That cannot be good for prices or consumer choice,” he added.
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