THOMAS Cook has announced plans to close 150 travel shops and six offices, in a move putting up to 2,800 jobs UK-wide under threat.

The closure plans follow the completion of German-owned Thomas Cook's£8 billion merger with rival My Travel recently.

The Rochdale headquarters of MyTravel - formerly Airtours - is under threat of closure along with call centres in Birmingham and Manchester.

At time of going to Press, the company was unable to confirm if any of its nine stores - or 17 Going Places outlets - in Northern Ireland would be affected by the plans.

The combined group's network of stores will be cut by around 150 to around 800 stores, under the Thomas Cook brand. My Travel's Going Places brand will be retained in towns which have more than one store. Where possible staff will be offered alternatives.