Staff at the Vodafone contact centre in Trowbridge were left in tears of disbelief after it was announced the centre will close, putting 200 jobs on the line.

And business leaders have expressed their disappointment at the loss of such a major employer in the county town.

The customer operations director for Vodafone UK, Stefan Langkamp made a announcement at the White Horse Business Park centre on Tuesday afternoon that 200 roles will move to a purpose-built site in Stoke.

An employee from the Trowbridge area, who wishes to remain nameless said: “The first we heard about it was when they started installing a PA system in the centre on Tuesday and we saw some important people walking around.

“We were supposed to have team times and they were cancelled. The announcement came at about 2.30pm after we had all been called into one room.

“There was a mixed reaction with half of the people there in tears of disbelief while the other half was very unsurprised with anything Vodafone were doing.”

The staff were then split into groups and given basic information about redundancy and their leaving dates, with the earliest wave leaving in December. They are now in a six-week consultation period.

Vodafone is proposing that 200 customer-facing roles from its Trowbridge contact centre will move to the firm’s purpose-built site in Stoke.

The employee has said that realistically 30 people at the most could move to the Stoke centre as many people have commitments in the county. He said he would be unable to move because he has a partner and two children.

Abi Brown of Vodafone UK Customer Services said: “Today’s changes are about creating a lean and fast-moving organisation. We also want to ensure that people impacted by this are supported to find alternative roles, and that we give them as much notice as we can.”

Michael Williams, chief executive of Wessex Association of Chambers of Commerce, said: “It is extremely concerning at a time when we have seen major job reductions at Wiltshire Council, and reductions at Virgin Media as well.

“It is a very difficult time, the local economy is very fragile and any loss of jobs is a concern as there is less money coming in, it is very disappointing.

“A company has to make a profit and this move obviously makes sense from Vodafone’s perspective, but it is bad news for Wiltshire. It is easy to say that people can relocate, but many people may have families who would have to give up their jobs to move.”

A Communication Workers Union spokesperson said: “Staff at Trowbridge are devastated by Vodafone’s news the centre will be closed. Many thought their jobs were secure after last year’s round of redundancies at the site, so this news is a bitter blow.

“We are very concerned that some roles may be outsourced in this move as we have seen with Vodafone recently. This would inevitably mean lower wages and worse terms and conditions for staff while also having an effect on customer service.

“While we urge Vodafone to offer relocation packages to staff, we know that a move to Stoke on Trent is unrealistic for most people, meaning redundancy.”