More than 230 call centre workers are facing redundancy, after banking group Abbey announced further job losses.
A total of 235 jobs are to go at its contact centre in Gateshead.
It is part of a drive to cut 3,000 jobs announced last year by Abbey's new owners, Spanish group Banco Santander.
The centre will close in March and the work will be transferred to other Abbey call centres in Glasgow, Bradford and Milton Keynes.
Abbey presently has 25 UK call centres.
It said it was moving to "fewer but larger sites" and will be inroducing a single telephone IT system to further cut costs and improve efficiency. A spokeswoman said the Gateshead employees affected would be transferred to its other operations wherever possible.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article