While thousands of Thomas Cook staff are still coming to terms with losing their jobs following the company ceasing trading, other travel companies have come out in force to offer a lifeline to those affected.
Travel giants Virgin Atlantic and TUI have both opened recruitment days for former Thomas Cook staff who will now be looking for more work in the travel industry.
Although there are mixed reports on just how many people are losing their jobs in the wake of the collapse, the Thomas Cook website said it employed 21,000 people across 16 different countries.
A job post advertised on Virgin’s website on Monday afternoon specifically called out to Thomas Cook cabin crew to apply.
The company wrote:
We have a set up a specific recruitment path to support any Thomas Cook Cabin Crew after the sad announcement that the company has ceased operations.
If you are committed to the highest professional standards and delivering for our customers then we’d love to talk to you.
Virgin is offering a salary of £17,074 per year in addition to ‘excellent benefits,’ however crew will need to be in an area accessible to London Heathrow and London Gatwick, where the airline flies all of its long-haul destinations from.
Meanwhile, TUI has put out a statement offering its condolences to everyone affected by the company’s collapse. The travel company also revealed it would be hosting a recruitment fair at its Luton office for people impacted.
Hays Travel North West has also revealed it’s looking for talented Thomas Cook travel agents to help ‘expand up the M6 corridor.’
As per Travel Weekly, directing manager Don Bircham said:
We’ve just opened in Oldham and we’ll be opening Shrewsbury soon. There are opportunities coming up as we expand up the M6 corridor. We’ve recruited a lot of ex-Thomas Cook staff recently and they always come with great training and knowledge.
I hope it’s not seen as opportunistic, but we can offer a route back into the industry for these talented agents.
Hays currently has 36 branches in the North West and is aiming to have 50, meaning there should be ample opportunities on the horizon for Thomas Cook staff hoping to stay in the travel industry.
Other companies from Jet2 to Holidaysplease.co.uk have also revealed an openness to hiring former Thomas Cook staff.
Thomas Cook previously cited a slowdown in bookings due to Brexit uncertainty in contributing to its crushing debt.
On Friday, the company said it needed £200 million to avoid going bust and was in weekend talks with shareholders and creditors in a desperate bid to avoid collapsing.
However, bosses were found to have received £20 million in bonuses in the five years leading up to the company’s collapse.
In a statement, Thomas Cook chief executive Peter Fankhauser said he deeply regrets the shutdown:
Despite huge efforts over a number of months and further intense negotiations in recent days we have not been able to secure a deal to save our business.
I know that this outcome will be devastating to many people and will cause a lot of anxiety, stress and disruption.
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Emma Rosemurgey is an NCTJ trained Journalist who started her career by producing The Royal Rosemurgey newspaper in 2004, which kept her family up to date with the goings on of her sleepy north east village. She graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and started her career in regional newspapers before joining Tyla (formerly Pretty 52) in 2017, and progressing onto UNILAD in 2019.