Travel group Thomas Cook has moved to assure hundreds of employees at its Bradford call centre that their jobs will not be among the 2,500 to be lost in a raft of closures.

However, it was unable to provide such a guarantee for staff at its travel shops.

The firm has announced it is to close about 150 stores and up to six offices around the country. This will result in the loss of 2,500 to 2,800 jobs.

A Thomas Cook spokesman said its call centre at the Aldermanbury office block in the city centre, where 300 to 400 people work, would not be among those facing the axe And it said the Bradford centre might be expanded as workers are re-located from other centres.

Announcing the cuts yesterday, Manny Fontenla-Novoa, joint chief executive of the Thomas Cook Group, said: "The announcement is about a significant UK reorganisation.

"As many as possible of those whose roles are potentially affected by the news will be offered the opportunity for re-deployment within the business as we are absolutely committed to retaining the skills and experience of all our work force."

He added appropriate redundancy packages would be provided for those not able to be re-deployed.

The move follows a merger between Thomas Cook, owned by German firm KarstadtQuelle, and My Travel Group. The merger, which took place last week, makes the group one of the world's leading leisure travel groups.

The Rochdale headquarters of MyTravel - formerly known as Airtours - is under threat due to the merger, along with call centres in Birmingham and Manchester, and sites in Lancashire, Manchester, and at Manchester Airport.

The combined group's network of shops will cut by 150 to about 800, under the Thomas Cook brand. MyTravel's Going Places brand will be retained in towns which have more than one store The Transport Salaried Staffs Association, which represents the staff, said the cuts confirmed its fears.

TSSA general secretary Gerry Doherty said: "This confirms 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."

The TSSA's north west regional organiser, Julie Hilling, said there was a feeling of shock. A 90-day consultation period with the union started today.