Thomas Cook jobs go

THOMAS Cook is closing 50 High Street shops, putting 400 jobs at risk weeks before Christmas.

The closures will affect Thomas Cook and Co- operative Travel stores and will take place between now and March.

The travel company said that the affected shops are either close to other outlets or where a decline in footfall has impacted profitability. A rise in online travel bookings was also flagged as a reason for the closures, with the group saying that just 47pc of holidays were booked in store this year while online sales in the UK grew by 27pc.

Last month Thomas Cook revealed a 40pc plunge in UK earnings as it suffered amid ‘challenging’ trading and a hit from the weak pound.

The holiday giant reported underlying earnings of £52m for the UK division in the year to September 30, down from £86m the previous year.