MOST of the 22 former Thomas Cook shops in Northern Ireland which were acquired this week by Hays Travel are fully operation again, it emerged yesterday.
Hays took over the entire retail portfolio of over 555 former Thomas Cook shops in the UK after it signed a deal with the official receiver and special managers at KPMG on Wednesday.
The company, privately owned by John and Irene Hays hopes to take on as many of the 2,500 former Thomas Cook retail employees as possible in the coming weeks, doubling its workforce.
In Northern Ireland, 79 members of staff have been recruited so far with a further 50 jobs still to be filled.
Nicola Allison, regional sales manager in Northern Ireland, said: “I'm absolutely delighted. It is an amazing thing that John and Irene have done for us – it’s a lifeline.
“I worked for Thomas Cook for 24 years but when I visited the Hays Travel Head Office in Sunderland it became clear that I have moved from one travel family to another. Our staff have really put their heart and soul into this and we are so excited to be welcoming customers old and new back into our stores.”
The 40-year-old Sunderland-based company reached sales of more than £1bn in 2018 and celebrated by sharing £1m with its 1900 employees, who each received £100 for every year they’d worked there.
