Neilson Active Holidays has announced a reduction in its UK workforce, with 28 roles at risk of redundancy.
The company blamed the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic for the cuts. It employs nearly 100 staff at its Brighton head office.
David Taylor, chief executive, said: “The impact of Covid-19 has been worse than any of us could have imagined, leading to a total shutdown across the travel sector. My team have responded magnificently to this crisis as we have dealt with the repatriation of thousands of customers in March and subsequently cancelling, rearranging and refunding the bookings of thousands more.
“Many staff working through this crisis have taken pay cuts and many more staff have been patiently waiting at home whilst on furlough with their fingers crossed that this crisis will pass.”
He added: “We have taken decisive action over the last few months to safeguard the future of Neilson and try and avoid the need to lose colleagues, but the impact of the pandemic will see such a severe downturn in business during 2020 that job losses are unavoidable.
“We have been open and honest with our staff from the moment the crisis broke about the challenges the business was facing and that it could lead to this situation.
“We are a close-knit family at Neilson and I am fortunate to have one of the best teams in travel delivering award winning holidays, which makes the decision even more painful as it will lead to the loss of not just colleagues but friends as well.
“The redundancy programme is part of a plan that will see Neilson survive Covid-19 and ensures we are in the best position to rebuild for the future.”
