ONE of Burnley’s biggest employers this morning announced plans to close with the loss of 450 jobs.

The proposal to shut the Shop Direct call centre in Kingsway, has been described as a ‘complete catastrophe’ for the town.

Bosses said they planned to close the former Great Universial Stores site in April as part of a nationwide move to axe 1,500 jobs.

The firm, which handles phone orders for the likes of Littlewoods, blamed a surge in online purchases.

Following the shock announcement, union bosses pledged to try and save some of the positions as they began talks as part of a 90-day consultation period.

Shop Direct said 350 workers nationwide could be offered alternative roles in other centres.

David Johnson, a national officer for the Usdaw union, which represents the workforce, said: “This is clearly devastating news for the Burnley staff and completely unexpected.

“The company needs to demonstrate to us that there’s business logic behind the move, and that it is right for the company and the staff.

“However, we need some convincing on that. If they have got too many staff, we will deal with it but I would like to see the evidence.

"Until then, we will not back down.”

Usdaw officials were due to meet with Shop Direct bosses today to discuss the proposed cuts.

Mr Johnson said he wanted to know what the offer of the 350 alternative roles would mean ‘in real terms’.

It is understood that some Burnley workers could be offered positions at Shop Direct offices in Preston or Bolton.

One Shop Direct worker, who did not want to be named, said staff were told of the closure and mass redundancies plan during a five-minute meeting this morning.

She said: “After the meeting with management, we met union officials but they had no details at all. It is a total shock.

“I am married with three kids so it will be hard. It will be a case of going out and finding a new job but I will be up against 450 others.

"I have worked here for five years and it has been a good place to work.

“However, they have offered no information and we all feel completely in limbo.”

After this morning’s meeting, hundreds of staff were told to go home for the day as bosses prepared for showdown talks with union officials.

In the aftermath of the announcement – which also affected Shop Direct centres in Newtown near Wrexham, Sunderland and Middleton near Oldham – political leaders pledged to support workers and seek talks with the firm, which is one of Burnley’s biggest private sector employers.

Burnley Council leader Gordon Birtwistle added: “I am absolutely horrified by this. It is a complete catastrophe for the town.

“This will affect 450 families and that could be 1,000 more people.

"These people not only work in Burnley, they also spend their money in the town.

"I will be contacting the company to see if there’s anything I can do.”

He said the council would put people on site to help those look for new jobs.

Council chief executive Steve Rumbelow added: “We are in the process of contacting Shop Direct to understand as fully as we can the decision that has been made.

“It is hard for us to understand what opportunities there might be to salvage jobs.”

Burnley MP Kitty Ussher said: “I am shocked by this announcement and it is clearly extremely upsetting news for my constituents at the company.

"I have got questions for the company as to why Burnley’s office is closing when others are remaining open and I want to know if any of the 350 jobs will be available to Burnley staff.

“I will do anything I can to reverse this decision.”

Liverpool-based Shop Direct said it was ‘too early to say’ who might be offered the 350 alternative roles and where.

However, it said it hoped some workers would choose to take early retirement and pledged to work with the North West Development Agency to ‘skill up’ redundant staff.

In a statement, it said online sales had grown while the firm was taking 14million fewer phone calls a year than in 2006, meaning Shop Direct was over-burdered with call centre staff.

Chief executive Mark Newton-Jones said: “We recognise that this is a very difficult time for those teams affected by the proposed contact centre closures.

"We are working closely with the trade unions to help staff through the consultation process and support them in finding future employment.”