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Travel Counsellors targets Cook employees with ‘discovery days’

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Travel Counsellors targets Cook employees with ‘discovery days’

By Phil Davies

Travel Counsellors targets Cook employees with 'discovery days'Travel Counsellors today reported an “unprecedented” rise in job seekers following Thomas Cook announcing the closure of 195 agency branches and 2,500 redundancies.

The homeworking agency says there is a future for “talented travel professsionals” and is organising a number of recruitment initiatives including ‘discovery days’ across the UK.

These will offer an insight to the future of travel and show retail agents that there is an alternative to life on the high street.

Cook staff facing job losses are being invited to annual mini-conferences being held in Manchester, Birmingham and London on April 15-27. A special webcast will also be held.

Travel Counsellors who have previously worked on the high street, and for Cook in particular, will be attending the discovery days and will host the webcast.

Some existing Travel Counsellors have offered to open their homes to those interested in joining so they can see how the company works and answer questions.

“This will give potential recruits the chance to speak directly with people who have been in their position before, and hear why they took the leap to run their own business,” Travel Counsellors said.

The company believes its impressive sales for the start of the year is proving a “compelling reason” for Cook employees to express interest in joining Travel Counsellors.

Average earnings for UK Travel Counsellors are up to £21,000 in the past year, with the top 100 earning £59,871.

Head of global recruitment Simon Burke said: “We have had to reprint a new batch of our information packs as the demand has outstripped our normal supply.

“We are mindful that this is very difficult time for Thomas Cook employees and we want to give them as much support as possible, so this is why we’re going to lengths to ensure they see that there is light at the end of the tunnel.”

Travel Counsellors quoted former Cook employee Donna Horner who said the idea of working from home had worried her but “it really has been the best thing I’ve ever done”.

“I’ve never known support like it, not in all the years I worked on the high street. I feel far from isolated, in fact that couldn’t be further from the truth – I felt more isolated when I was working on the high street.

“Importantly, I do earn decent money. I can understand why some Thomas Cook employees may feel anxious about taking the leap and may want to try to find a job on the high street, but all I can say is taking the step to work for Travel Counsellors have allowed me to truly enjoy working in travel again.”

Thomas Cook job cuts are necessary, says expert

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Thomas Cook job cuts are necessary, says expert

By Melanie Hall

Thomas Cook job cuts are necessary, says expertThomas Cook Group’s decision to cut 2,500 jobs and close 195 stores has gone down well in the City as a much-needed restructuring following its “dismal” financial performance, said a leading analyst.

Douglas McNeill, investment director at stockbrokers Charles Stanley, told Travel Weeklythat the move, although sad for those at risk of losing their jobs, was necessary.

“The City is pleased to see restructuring taking place,” said McNeill. “No-one is ever keen to see other people losing jobs so the restructuring that is underway is tempered by thoughts about those losing jobs, but it’s beyond question that things needed to change at Thomas Cook.

“I would say that the City has thought something like this was on the cards for quite some time. The management has led the City to expect cost savings without being particularly specific.”

“lt hasn’t required much imagination to realise that a lot of reductions was on the way,” said McNeill, as it is doing less business than it used to.

“Capacity is down this summer season, 4% down at the last count,” he said. “That’s not the first such reduction. Reduction in the winter season was greater than that. Sooner or later, you are going to conclude that you are going to need fewer staff.”

McNeill said that Thomas Cook’s chief executive Harriet Green was instilling confidence because of her plans to cut costs.

“Financial performance has been dismal for quite some time and the share price tells you that the City is confident in Harriet Green’s ability to restructure,” he said.

Thomas Cook saw its share price drop by more than 4% yesterday in the wake of the travel group’s mass jobs cut announcement a day earlier.

Shares in the company were down 3.5p to 82.5p but this was more than 15% below its 52-week high of 97.38. At yesterday’s rate, the group’s market capitalisation was £787.92 million.

Cook is to cut 2,500 jobs and close almost 200 agency branches as part of a financial turn around plan. An update on the business transformation plan and new strategy for the group is due to be given by chief executive Harriet Green on Wednesday.

A brief trading update will be given ahead of first half results to be announced in May.

Thomas Cook staff talk of shock and anger at store closures

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Thomas Cook staff talk of shock and anger at store closures

Thomas Cook staff talk of shock and anger at store closuresThomas Cook staff who have been told their shops have been earmarked for closure have spoken of their shock at Wednesday’s announcement.

The company revealed that 2,500 jobs were under consultatation, more than 900 of which will be from the retail estate. The rest will be back office roles at its premises in Accrington, Peterborough, Preston and Egham.

One staff member who wanted to remain anonymous and who was told her shop would soon be closing told Travel Weekly:

“We feel we’ve been treated absolutely appallingly. We are an A performing store and we were told categorically by our regional sales manager that no shop closures were imminent.

“We have very long-standing staff in our store. We have worked so hard during peaks, including Sundays and evenings with no extra pay, just to make the shop a success.

“We’ve been told not to tell any customers or staff who aren’t in today about the closures, we just have to smile and get on with it. The staff have been left reeling, we feel shocked and sick.”

Another staff member wrote on travelweekly.co.uk: “How sad and unfair, I have two kids, rent and I feel like my life has just been put in to overload, what will I do?”

A stream of comments, many purporting to be from staff, on Travel Weekly’s original story revealed the depth of anger among many employees who are either facing redundancy or changes to their current terms of employment, as Cook confirmed to Sky News yesterday.

Recruitment consultants have suggested some Cook staff may become homeworkers, while others may be forced to leave the industry.