TRAVEL firm MyTravel is to close its head office with the loss of 1,000 jobs, a union has said.

The Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA), which represents the employees, said the decision concerning the Rochdale HQ had confirmed its worst fears.

It is not yet known how many jobs, if any, will be lost at the firm's Accrington call centre.

TSSA general secretary Gerry Doherty said: "This is terrible news for Rochdale and the North West and will also be bad news for consumers across the UK, for it will mean less choice in the high street when it comes to holiday bookings.

"This confirms our worst fears that the UK will bear the brunt of the job losses. The German owners obviously feel it is easier to get rid of workers in the UK than anywhere else.

"We warned when the German-owned Thomas Cook announced this merger in February that it would be the British workforce that would pay the price because of our weaker labour laws. This has now come to pass. We will do all that we can to minimise job losses."

Management told the assembled meeting that in total between 2,500 and 2,800 jobs were to go due to the merger with Thomas Cook.

MyTravel operates a call-centre in Accrington, which has now been rebranded with the Thomas Cook logo. It is not known yet whether there will be any job losses there as part of the merger.