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Job losses likely as Co-operative Travel shuts Stockport call centre

The Co-operative Travel is to close its Stockport call centre in a move which affects 120 jobs.


The group has blamed the growth of flight bookings online for the closure of Kingsgate House, which sells mainly worldwide flights. The call centre is expected to shut next month.


A spokesman admitted there would be “substantial” job losses although the group hopes to relocate some of the call centre’s  120 staff to its call centres in Manchester and Rotherham, which focus on general holiday and travel sales, or to other positions within its homeworking or retail divisions. Staff began a 30-day consultation yesterday.


He said: “We don’t know how many staff will relocate or how many redundancies there will be but we would expect that a substantial number will not want to move.”


The Co-operative Travel managing direcror Mike Greenacre said: “In light of the fast changing flights market, we must align our strategy to the demands of our customers. The current trading climate in this market is such that, regrettably, we have taken the decision to close our Stockport office.”


The Co-operative Travel will continue to operate its specialist cruise centre in Barrow, Cumbria.

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