The TSSA travel union has branded Thomas Cook’s plans to axe nearly 500 jobs a ‘scandal’.
The union’s comments follow news that Cook is to close its Bradford call centre by March next year, putting 468 roles at risk. Of those, 69 are being relocated to other offices while 244 “full-time equivalent” posts will also be created at other sites.
Staff are now in a 90-day consultation period and TSSA reps have spent today in meetings with Thomas Cook staff.
TSSA travel union leader Manuel Cortes reacted angrily to the news, claiming hundreds of staff were paying the price for mismanagement of the company.
He said: “Thomas Cook is largely in the mess it is because of the mismanagement of former chief executive, Manny Fontenla-Novoa, who was paid an astonishing £15 million for driving the company towards the very edge of the cliff.
“Now hundreds of our members are going to pay the price of that mismanagement with their jobs while he has ridden off into the sunset with all the loot. It is a scandal.”
The company recently reported a half-year group loss of £643 million and revelaed it had shed 1,150 jobs in the UK in the past six months – 850 in retail and in the merged head office of Thomas Cook and The Co-operative Travel and 300 at Thomas Cook Airlines. Its airline is already facing a strike ballot from the Unite union over a pay freeze.