‘TO LET’ signs are set to go up outside the Oxford Mail Centre as the Royal Mail prepares to wind down operations in Cowley and move to Swindon.

More than 450 staff are employed at the 83,912 sq ft depot in Garsington Road, which is expected to close at the end of June.

It is another body blow to Cowley, which is still reeling from the loss of more than 1,000 agency workers at BMW.

Other Cowley employers to announce recent redundancies include Oxfam on the Oxford Business Park, which saw the loss of 71 posts, and Woolworths branch in the Templars Square shopping centre, where 21 staff went after the store closed.

Royal Mail’s plans to switch Oxford’s mail sorting operation to Swindon are about to kick in.

From next month, some of Oxford’s post will be transferred to Swindon for sorting, with the rest to go by the end of June.

Bob Cullen, of the Communication Workers’ Union based at the depot, said: “The sorting office will close on June 26 with a total loss of a large number of Cowley jobs.

“There is no sense in the move at all. It’s just an attack on the unions. Now the Cowley workers are paying for it with their jobs and the Oxfordshire public will find themselves with a third-rate service.”

The £90m reorganisation, which also involves the closure of the Reading sorting office, will mean many more lorries using the A420 to Swindon.

Royal Mail spokesman Richard Hall denied the move was a result of mail volumes declining because of competition from email.

He added: “So far, 78 of the original 450 workers have volunteered to move to Swindon and between 40 and 50 have taken delivery jobs in the OX postal area.

“But we don’t know precise redundancy figures yet.”

Oxford East MP Andrew Smith said: "Any job losses are a terrible experience for the workers affected and their families– and there is bound to be a knock-on effect in the wider community.

“Everything possible must be done to help them, and I of course support the efforts of JobCentre Plus, the Regional Development Agency and the local jobs club both to ensure that people are helped to find jobs and that both Cowley and Oxford are promoted as good locations for business.”

James Raven, of property company Goodman which owns the Oxford Business Park, said: “Throughout last year, we continued to attract new and growing businesses against the challenging economic climate and we are close to announcing an agreement with another high profile occupier.”

business@oxfordmail.co.uk