Thomas Cook to shed 1,000 jobs

Thomas Cook, the troubled holiday firm, is poised to start the axing of at least 1,000 jobs and shake up its boardroom, following a rescue injection of £200m at the weekend.

The tour operator is set to unveil details of its radical restructuring in its full-year results during the week commencing 12 December, which is expected to include exiting 200 of its 1,100 high-street travel shops.

Thomas Cook needs to slash its debts – which come to nearly £1bn – after dire trading forced it to seek an emergency loan from its banks last week.

Following the update on Tuesday, Thomas Cook's shares fell by 75 per cent on that day. Amid fears over its future, UK sales tumbled by about 30 per cent from then until the rescue deal was unveiled late on Friday night. Thomas Cook agreed a new £100m banking facility only in October, but it has now secured a further £200m loan.

Frank Meysman, who takes over as the holiday company's chairman on Thursday, is set to review its team of non-executive directors.