Exclusive by Matthew Legg Business editor

Last updated at 10:21, Saturday, 21 January 2012

Seventy workers at a Carlisle bookseller have been told their jobs are under threat after the firm was taken over.

The new owners of Christian book distributor Trust Media – formerly Send the Light (STL) – have begun redundancy consultations with staff as they look to streamline the business.

The firm has not revealed how many jobs will eventually go, but the figure will not exceed 20 because the company has not entered the formal 90-day consultation period required to lay off more than 20 workers at once.

Bosses say the cuts are essential to secure the future of the Kingstown business and that they hope the bulk of the job losses will come through voluntary redundancies and retirements.

Staff are said to be shocked at the news. They are expected to discover their fates next week.

Paul Davies, a member of the company’s senior management team, said: “There will be job losses, a number of which will be voluntary and retirements. There are 70 people employed here and everybody is involved in the consultation.

“It’s a difficult time for everyone; this is a very close-knit business with a lot of long-serving staff.

“But it’s an unfortunate necessity; changes have to be made to ensure the business remains in Carlisle, securing a substantial number of jobs in the process.

“We have great staff here and this is not a case of saying people aren’t performing.

“Like any other business, the last 12 months have been tough.

“But the new owners have made a significant investment in the company and have shown faith that they believe it can be successful.

“We have previously been very focused on the religious market and we are now looking to branch out into new markets.

“The religious sector will still be our bread and butter, and the business will continue to hold the values it has for the last 20 years, but we are also moving into the secular market.

“We are already making significant progress linking in with high street names like WH Smith and we have a big presence on Amazon.

“This is a painful process, but it is essential to make sure we continue trading from this site.”

First published at 08:58, Saturday, 21 January 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk