Royal Mail sorting office closure will cost Shrewsbury £3m

The claim came as the Communications Workers Union revealed it is to hold a crunch meeting with members at the centre in Shrewsbury next week to discuss potential strike action.

Royal Mail wants to close the sorting office in 2014 – a move which union chiefs claim will put 170 jobs at risk.

The company, which this week recorded a 1,100 per cent increase in profits – says closure is necessary because of a fall in mail volume and challenges from digital communications.

Currently 230 people work in the Shrewsbury mail centre.

Royal Mail bosses have said they are hoping to avoid compulsory redundancies by re-locating workers to other sorting offices in the region.

But Shropshire councillor Jon Tandy said the closure would be a 'massive blow' for Shrewsbury, resulting in a huge hole in the town's economy.

He said: "If you take out how much those staff and their families spend it adds up to about £3 million.

"It's a massive, massive blow to this town."

He added: "We have got to start looking at ways to boost the economy. The council has got to take action."

Shrewsbury and Atcham MP Daniel Kawczynski said he will meet officials from Royal Mail next month to ensure that workers facing the prospect of job losses in Shrewsbury were relocated to mail centres in Wolverhampton and Chester.

"My focus is making sure that Royal Mail carries out its promise to deliver alternative employment," he said.

Sian Jones, a spokeswoman for the CWU, said workers would hold a meeting on November 24 to discuss a number of proposals to fight the closure.

She said strike action had not been ruled out – but members were keen to keep the mail centre running.

"Members are in this for the long haul and want to keep the centre open.

"We will be discussing whether to ballot for industrial action, but it is unlikely anything will happen before Christmas."