Tui Travel is to close two of its northeast call centres, leaving 90 members of staff facing redundancy.
A spokeswoman said a 90-day consultation was due to start this week ahead of the closure of the sites in Newcastle and Peterlee, County Durham. Its Stockton-on-Tees centre will handle enquiries.
A spokeswoman said: “The company has given staff details of the proposed plans as well as information about relocation opportunities in Stockton-on-Tees.
“The business’s primary concern is the impact that any of the proposed changes could have on its people.”
Tui Travel declined to reveal reasons for the planned closures.
The news comes as another blow for the industry in the northeast, following the recent collapse of Newcastle agency Monster Travel, which left 94 staff redundant.
David Hawke, Monster’s managing director, said he had been working to help find alternative employment for staff. About half have found new jobs or have interviews set up.
He added: “A majority of sales staff have been picked up by other travel companies, although fewer back-office staff have been.”
Ex-Monster employee Andrea Gilbertson said many former staff were being forced to look for jobs outside travel.
“A few of the Monster gang are starting jobs outside of travel this week and it’s a real shame that travel is losing some very good people,” she said.
Hawke said RSM Tenon had been appointed as administrators for Monster Travel, adding that its core assets were its customer database and website.
Click here to view original article by Travel Weekly, Thursday 29th July, 2010
