THE Co-operative Travel Trading Group has made 12
marketing and commercial staff redundant – including
commercial manager Mike Beaumont – to save
£400,000 a year.
CTTG chief operating officer Mike Greenacre said the shake-up of
the marketing and commercial department is a cost-cutting exercise
which will focus its marketing on the retail branch network.
Individual societies will now control marketing of other
distribution channels such as the Internet instead of it being
centrally controlled by CTTG.
He said the aim of the shift is to increase market share of the
retail division – CTTG’s most profitable arm.
Head of marketing Jane Carty is also being made redundant from
the group’s Stoke-on-Trent headquarters.
Head of commercial Julie Nolan and marketing manager Derry
Hodgkins will now report directly to Greenacre.
“There has to be a sensible cost base. The top tier of
management has been taken out which puts added responsibility on my
shoulders,” said Greenacre.
This year a strategic review will be undertaken to co-ordinate
an approach to dynamic packaging. “We have a strong presence in
package holidays, but the market is changing and dynamic packaging
must be addressed,” said Greenacre.
CTTG is in a four-week consultation with the employees affected.
They have been informed and the group has said it will try to find
them alternative roles.
Beaumont said the decision had come “as a surprise” as he was
unaware of the business review that led to the redundancies. “I
thought the job would be long term,” he admitted. The former Thomas
Cook commercial director hopes to secure another job in travel.
A rival retailer was not shocked by the redundancies,
commenting: “CTTG was a bit top heavy. It had a lot of heavyweight
people in it after it was formed. I wondered who was in charge of
what.”