PARCEL FORCE: WITH the wraps off Consignia's plans to shut Hereford's Parcel Force depot with 18 jobs probably lost, protest has begun.

Hereford MP Paul Keetch said that 'once again' his constituency suffers through the 'inadequacies' of Government policy.

Only a fortnight ago the MP joined representatives of the Communication Workers Union in serving a petition against Royal Mail privatisation on 10 Downing Street.

A 'disappointed' Chris Chappell, cabinet councillor for economic development, is looking for assurance over service provision should the depot shut.

"Any loss of jobs on this scale will have a detrimental impact on the local economy."

BT CALL CENTRE: MORE than 100 staff at Hereford's BT call centre could be among the communication giant's 'next generation' workforce.

The announcement was made by BT Retail yesterday (Wednesday) as plans were revealed to create two state of the art centres in the West Midlands.

Call centres at Birmingham and Stoke-on-Trent, will be developed into the next generation contact centres at a cost of £7.1million.

As part of the two-year project four existing call centres will close at Chelmsley Wood and Kingstanding in Birmingham, Dudley and Wolverhampton.

The Hereford site, where 46 BT staff and 84 agency employees work, is to stay open for at least two years, but will close within four. The decision has been made to allow enough time for an effective transition in sites that are relatively isolated.

Employees at centres that are closing will be given options to work at the next generation centre at Brindleyplace, Birmingham. The number of agency staff relocating will depend on site capacities and operational requirements.