THE AA is shutting its emergency breakdown call centre in Maidstone with the loss of 154 jobs.

Staff were given the shock news on Thursday morning.

The centre at St Leonard’s Close, 20/20 Business Park, Allington, is expected to close by the end of the year.

Some staff will be offered jobs elsewhere, with others being considered for up to 70 new teleworker jobs for staff working from home.

Work currently done at Allington will be switched to an existing call centre in Oldbury, Birmingham.

The AA confirmed that it had considered moving jobs to India or China but had ruled it out.

Steve Dewey, road services director, said that customer service would not be adversely affected. The AA had to maintain and increase its competitiveness in the market.

He said: "This is a difficult decision. We are working closely with the recognised Trade Union - the AADU - but we operate in a highly competitive market and must ensure we are providing a service that is not only high quality but cost effective."

The AA had to improe its efficiency, he said, and it could only sustain one call centre emergency breakdown calls and that would be in Oldbury.

"Regrettably, this means we are proposing to close our Maidstone call centre."

The call centre has been operating since 1988 and has previously been threatened with closure.

The AA, now owned by venture capital firms CVC Partners and Premira, provides breakdown services to around 15 million members in the UK. It also offers insurance and other financial services in an increasingly competitive market.

Paul Maloney, senior organiser for the GMB trade union, which represents around 30 members at the call centre and is not recognised by the AA, condemned the decision.

"We are very worried about this situation," he said.

He accused the new owners of "asset stripping" and called on AA members to protest that "a trusted reliable company in the UK has been taken over by venture capitalists who are just going to make it worthless."

He added: "This is the beginning of the end of the AA and the quicker the public realises that the better."

He said the GMB would be filing an official complaint about the AA’s "failure" to consult it about the redundancies.