Thomas Cook Group confirmed yesterday that up to 2,800 jobs could be lost in the UK as a result of its merger with MyTravel to create a £3 billion holiday giant.

The company, which completed the merger last week, said that the predicted £95 million of cost synergies would be partly achieved from the closure of six sites in the UK and about 150 of the combined group’s 950 travel agencies.

Some of the biggest losses are expected to come from the closure of MyTravel’s corporate headquarters at Holiday House in Rochdale. The enlarged group’s Britain and Ireland head office will be at Thomas Cook’s present location in Peterborough. The North West will bear the brunt of the closures, costing jobs in areas including customer support, distribution and telephone bookings. MyTravel’s airline operations base at Manchester airport will also close.

On the high street, Thomas Cook will be the main brand, although the Going Places brand will be retained in towns where more than one shop is required. The combined aircraft fleet will operate as Thomas Cook Airlines.

In addition to the main Thomas Cook brand, the group’s holiday brands will include Airtours, Direct Holidays, Manos, Panorama and Sunset. The MyTravel name will disappear.

The company said that the proposals were likely to affect between 2,500 and 2,800 jobs, out of a total of 19,000. It said that the final number of losses would be decided during a consultation process and that it hoped to redeploy and retrain some of the affected staff. The integration will take place over 12-15 months.

A small number of jobs are also likely to be lost at Thomas Cook’s corporate headquarters in Oberursel, near Frankfurt. The company will be shifting its head office to London, a process it expects to be completed in the first half of next year.

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