Thomas Cook have announced that their Bradford administration centre is set to close, costing hundreds of workers their jobs. The commercial property will cease operations in March 2013.
Altogether, 468 of the employees at the Bradford commercial property will be forced to seek alternative employment elsewhere. However, 69 of the 537 employees will be transferred to Thomas Cook’s nearby Birkenshaw commercial property call centre.
The travel company is also looking to transfer 244 additional workers to other commercial properties around the country. These options include administration centres in Falkirk, Peterborough and Preston. Should the proposals be deemed financially viable following discussions with the board members, employees could face the requirement to relocate closer to their assigned commercial property in order to keep their jobs with the company.
Currently, Thomas Cook employs over 1,000 commercial property workers nationwide. 537 of them work in the Bradford commercial property, while 434 are in Peterborough, 252 are in Falkirk and 113 are in Birkenshaw. The largest office is based in Preston and employs around 600 workers.
A statement released by Thomas Cook claims the company had “made a commitment to improve the profitability of the UK business and the announcement was part of this.”
It continued; “But what is also key to these proposed changes is the improved service level that will result for our customers. We looked at several options as part of our location strategy review and the proposal is considered to be the most effective.
“I’d like to thank our colleagues in our Bradford site for their professionalism as we now enter a period of consultation.”
However, all is not lost yet – Bradford Council and Thomas Cook are currently attempting to schedule a series of meetings in which to discuss the best ways of helping the employees who will lose their jobs at the Bradford commercial property. Leader of Bradford Council David Green has expressed his regret that the company did not consult with the council before announcing the closure of their administration centre in the city. 
He said that the closure of the commercial property and the resulting job losses was “dreadful news”, adding; “Everyone has known the travel business generally, and the company, has been going through difficult times, but this is still a shock.”
It is indeed true that the travel industry has suffered considerably in the years since the recession struck, with many airlines and commercial property travel agencies forced to cut back, merge or even close altogether. But, with companies such as EasyJet and Thomas Cook offering low cost flights and package holidays to commercial properties abroad, surely the travel industry should not be suffering quite as badly as it is?
In fact, there are many and varied reasons for the decline in the holidaymaking trade, many of which are linked directly to the economy. As the average family’s disposable income becomes eaten up by fuel costs, council tax and even basics such as food and clothing, fewer people can justify spending upwards of several hundred pounds to escape for a week in the sun. Instead, more and more families choose to save up for a getaway to a luxury commercial property abroad over a longer period of time, making annual holidays a thing of the past.
The popularity of the “staycation” has also rocketed in recent years, especially mini-breaks to spa hotels in the countryside, such as the MacDonald Hotels UK chain. Staycations, many believe, prevent overspending and stress levels rising – yet, as MOVEHUT revealed in a previous article, without careful budgeting they can end up costing more than a week’s holiday to the Spanish sun.
With the Olympics taking place in London this year, travel agencies may once more have to tighten their belts and make further redundancies in order to make ends meet. However, with a rather damp summer forecast for the UK, they may well be hoping that the lure of a sunshine break will prove irresistible for their customers.
Do you believe that the travel industry in the UK could do anything more to entice customers back into their commercial properties? Or do you believe that the commercial property closures such as the one in Bradford are inevitable given the current state of the economy?
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