THE jobs of 21 home-based couriers in Bolton and Farnworth employed by Shop Group Direct, part of the Littlewoods home shopping group, have been axed.
The losses come as the firm culls 14 per cent of its home-based couriers in Greater Manchester, with more than half the total in Bolton.
Workers at the company's Reality distribution depot at Lorne Street in Farnworth were told that 16 of the 147 home couriers, of which nine are based in Bolton, are being "deselected" with immediate effect.
A further five are being lost through merging delivery patches in the area.
Shop Group said the measures were taking place in areas that "were no longer financially viable to us or to the courier".
A source at Reality said that no further announcements were made, but that the general feeling among staff about the future of the remaining couriers was "pessimistic".
The move has been prompted by a massive drop in parcel volume through the Farnworth depot.
In the last twelve months Reality has seen a 12.5 pc decrease in parcels from just over four million to just over three million. The major factor was the loss of a Book Club Associates contract, which the company had held since 1998, and which was not renewed by the Swindon-based bookseller last year. It is understood the contract was scooped by home shopping rival Grattan.
A Shop Direct Group spokesman said: "In line with a managed reduction in parcel volume, we are realigning our network of home-based couriers in order to ensure appropriate levels of service."
The cutbacks come on the back of Littlewoods' announcement in June that Bolton is to lose 475 jobs with the closure of two mail-order centres by the end of the year.
The jobs will go at Littlewoods' Returns Centre, Croal Mill, Blackshaw Lane, Deane, where 430 are employed, and the other 45 at the company's Shop Direct warehouse at Beehive Mills, Crescent Road, Great Lever. In April, it axed 116 jobs at the company's Experian credit checking arm, based in Thynne Street.
The Reality distribution centre employs 90 people, and the Shop Direct call centre operation in Thynne Street, employs 500 people.
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