MORE than 100 call centre staff in the region have been given redundancy notices by cable TV operator ntl.

The company is cutting 1,500 jobs nationwide, including more than 100 at its Stockton call centre in Preston Farm.

The Northern Echo understands that last month 124 workers were given statutory 90-day notices.

A spokesman said a significant number of those who were being made redundant were being offered employment at its neighbouring Stockton operation.

But the spokesman could not confirm how many workers were being kept on.

"It is too early to give exact figures," he said.

"Some employees have agreed to move across and some are still deciding. Some will want to take redundancy. We will know more later. But at the moment, we are actively recruiting for new people as well."

The company is hoping to fill about 120 vacancies at its specialist operation in Stockton.

The spokesman said the two centres in Stockton employed about 300 people.

He said: "The centre in Teesside is really important to us as it will become one of our four specialist centres across the UK.

In April, ntl said no North-East workers would lose their jobs as a result of its restructuring plans, which included the closure of call centres at Reading, Belfast, Glasgow, Brighton and Cambridge.

It is merging its operations to provide support cover at four specialist centres in Nottingham, Luton, Coventry and Stockton.