AN organisation driving tourism in the Tees Valley will close this week, with the loss of nine jobs.
The closure of visit- Teesvalley, announced last year, is likely to be followed by scores more redundancies at its parent body, Tees Valley Unlimited (TVU), which will become the new Tees Valley Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) this year.
A consultation on jobs with employees at the business development organisation concludes on Friday.
It emerged in October that two thirds of staff at TVU faced losing their jobs after its budget was cut from £9m to £2m.
TVU – made up of public, private and voluntary bodies – was established in 2006 to improve the economic performance of the Tees Valley.
Stephen Catchpole, managing director of TVU, said, “Last year, One North East and the Homes and Communities Agency informed TVU that funding for our activities will cease in March.
“As a result, we have had to initiate a process of formal consultation with staff that is likely to see numbers reduce considerably.
“As part of this process, visitTeesvalley is to come to an end and staff will leave the organisation this Friday.
“Further updates on a revised staffing structure will be provided in due course.”
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