WORKERS at City Link's Chelmsford depot were left jobless on Christmas Day after it emerged the parcel delivery service had gone into administration.
The 48 members of staff, some of whom had worked 14-hour shifts to get presents delivered in time for Christmas, heard of the company's collapse at the same time as frustrated Christmas customers as they tuned in to the ten o'clock news.
Rumours of a takeover had been circulating at the depot in Dukes Way industrial estate, near Chelmer Village, but the news still shocked most of the workforce.
John Butcher, 45, of Molrams Lane, Sandon, said: "I got a text from a colleague at 9pm on Christmas Day telling me to keep an eye on the ten o'clock news because he thought something might be announced – little did I know it would be telling me that I'd lost my job.
"It was such a kick in the teeth. I've been working from 6am until 8pm, six days a week, in the run-up to Christmas and this is the thanks I get. I'm gutted; I worked with some lovely people who are all going to lose their jobs."
RMT, the union working with administrators Ernst & Young, has estimated that around 2,000 of a 2,727-strong workforce will now lose their jobs today (New Year's Eve).
A statement released on Monday (December 29) from the joint administrators of City Link Limited divulged that the company will have to make "substantial redundancies" as a result of the company being unable to continue trading and accept further parcels.
It is estimated that 40,000 packages remain undelivered in depots across the country, and parcels have subsequently been turned away from the Coventry head office as well as transport hubs at Heathrow, Peterborough and Warrington and 53 depots throughout the UK.
The statement continued that the company formerly known as City Link has started informing employees of the potential for significant redundancies via a series of employee meetings.
Employees affected by redundancy will be offered advice and support in making claims for redundancy and notice pay.
However, employees not immediately affected by redundancy will continue to be paid for the returning of parcels and assisting in winding down the company's operations. Administrators will then confirm redundancies.
Mr Butcher, a stepfather of two, had been working for City Link for four months.
He said: "I'm owed just under £6,000, which was my last month's wages. This is our busiest time of the year and the time when we make a lot of money. I was looking forward to getting a nice Christmas pay packet and now I have to tell people that I can't afford to pay the mortgage or the utility bills.
"I'm just full of resentment that the company has done everything in its power to maximise its profits and has then completely hung its employees out to dry."
Bosses at the Chelmsford depot were quick to quell any whispers that the company was on the brink of meltdown just days before the eventual collapse, as posters were put up threatening civil action against rumour-mongering employees, claimed John.
Depots reopened on Monday and will remain open for a short time to enable customers and intended recipients to collect their parcels.
