THOMSON-owned Travel House has shut down the head office of Edinburgh-based Sibbald Travel with the loss of seven jobs.
Among those axed from Hope Street in Edinburgh are general manager Dennis Hart and operations manager David Wightman who have been with Sibbald for 34 years and 28 years respectively.
Its accounts and marketing department will now be integrated into Travel House in Swansea.
The decision to close the office, which acted as a central hub for Sibbald’s 11 shops, will save Thomson around £225,000 and comes amid pledges by the operator to save £50m in two years.
Travel House retail operations manager Miles Morgan said the move makes economic sense. “We want to make the business more profitable and ensure the future security of staff,” he said.
He added that Hart and Wightman left on amicable terms.
Sibbald head of sales and marketing Gary Reavely will temporarily take over the day-to-day running of the shops while a regional manager is expected to be appointed next month.
Swansea-based Travel House will now look at incorporating the head-office functions of Callers Pegasus, also Thomson owned, in a further bid to cut costs.
Meanwhile, Morgan said Travel House would fight to ensure none of its branches are among the shop closures outlined by Thomson chief executive Charles Gurassa.
Gurassa said a number of high-street agencies will close as e-commerce develops.