MORE than 250 jobs are to disappear at three Littlewoods sites in Bolton.

The Liverpool-based home shopping group says it will be making the cuts in phases during 1999 as part of a £45 million restructuring of its warehousing and distribution operations.

This will result in 400 jobs being created in Oldham as a large proportion of Littlewoods' warehousing and parcel distribution is centralised at the expanding Shaw site.

A spokesman said today that it was currently planned that there would be no compulsory redundancies in Bolton and that the job losses would be absorbed through re-location to other sites within the Littlewoods Organisation.

The three Bolton sites affected are:

BLACKROD - Littlewoods currently employs 407 people in Manchester Road on a site which has a delivery sorting operation, a separate catalogue distribution service and a returns centre. The parcel sorting operation will go during 1999, affecting 160 permanent jobs.

But the spokesman said the company was looking at alternative uses which it was hoped would result in some of the affected Blackrod staff being retained there.

The catalogue distribution and returns operations, which employ more than 150 people, will not be affected.

DOVE, Deane Church Lane - The company has a distribution centre and a separate marketing operation employing 232 people. The distribution centre is to be closed in 1999 with the loss of 59 jobs, but the marketing operation - which employs 173 people - is unaffected.

HOLDEN, Blackburn Road, Astley Bridge - The existing distribution centre is being converted into a specialised warehouse for hanging garments.

Currently 288 people are employed at Holden and 40 permanent jobs will be phased out during 1999.

"Again, it is hoped future business expansion will create new jobs on the site, particularly through the nationwide launch earlier this year of the new Index Extra catalogue," the spokesman said.

There will be no effect on the Croal returns centre on Blackshaw Lane which employs 800 staff.

Mr Bryan Mayoh, Managing Director of Littlewoods Home Shopping Group, said: "These developments will support the planned growth of our business and maintain Littlewoods' position at the forefront of home shopping.

"Whilst we have to phase out part of our operations at our sites in Blackrod, Dove and Holden, we are extremely hopeful that because of the three-year timescale for this development a large number of our existing staff can be employed elsewhere within the company. "Our staff at our sites in the Bolton area have been extremely loyal and every effort will be made to help and support those affected during the developments over the next three years."

The moves follow Littlewoods' introduction of a standard, free 48-hour delivery service and a switch to an 0345 "one call" number for customer queries and orders.

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