Thomas Cook: £59m paid in redundancy payouts

The holiday firm collapsed in September 2019

Staff at the holiday firm Thomas Cook received a total of £59m in redundancy payouts after its collapse, a government taskforce has revealed.

The travel company's collapse last September left 21,000 global staff, including 9,000 in the UK, out of work.

It also led to one of the government's biggest repatriation programmes to bring home 150,000 holidaymakers.

About 1,300 employees who registered with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) found new jobs.

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The payout has been divided between 8,281 former members of staff, a spokesman said.

Staff at Thomas Cook have received redundancy payouts totalling £59m

The Thomas Cook National Taskforce was set up in September after the 178-year-old company entered compulsory liquidation "to mitigate the impact of Thomas Cook's insolvency".

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Members said the aim was to "keep employee welfare front-of-mind" - in Peterborough, where the firm had its retail headquarters, and Greater Manchester, where many employees were based.

The taskforce, comprising local authorities, trade bodies and representatives from the DWP and Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), has now disbanded.

The operator's collapse led to thousands of job losses

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority mayor James Palmer, a member of the taskforce, said support for staff "affected by the unfortunate and shock closing" of Thomas Cook would continue locally.

He said: "Since Covid 19 broke out, we have launched a range of measures including business funding, training and job matching.

"I urge everyone in the region to continue to access the resources available to help individuals and businesses maintain resilience during this challenging time."