THE majority of City Link drivers covering East Lancashire have lost their jobs, the administrators of the collapsed delivery company said.

Nearly 2,400 axed staff began the new year looking for a new job after the company announced it was going into administration after years of “‘substantial losses’”.

Forty-six out of 52 drivers in Preston – the depot covering East Lancashire – were told they would be losing their jobs. An offer had been made for the national firm, but negotiations with a consortium fell through.

Administrators said the potential buyers offered ‘“no money up front and significantly undervalued”’ the company’s assets, and would not improve their offer.

Joint administrator Hunter Kelly said: “It is with regret that we have to announce substantial redundancies at City Link, which ceased accepting new parcels on Christmas Eve.

“The company endured substantial losses, which ultimately became too great for it to continue as a going concern, and City Link entered administration following an unsuccessful sale process.”

The RMT union said the failure to secure jobs at City Link was ‘“a disgraceful and cynical betrayal”’.

General secretary Mick Cash said: “The City Link Christmas destruction is an act of industrial vandalism that shames our nation while the government looked on and offered nothing but shallow words.”

Coventry, where City Link has its head office, faces the highest number of redundancies, with 350 jobs lost. There have also been more than a hundred job losses in Hatfield, Heathrow and Warrington.

The other job losses are spread across the UK. City Link has 52 depots around the country.

City Link employees who have lost their positions have been sent letters officially confirming their redundancy. The administrators said 371 people have been kept on to deal with remaining parcels and to assist in realising the company’s assets and winding down its operations.