National Express to cut 750 jobs

National Express says it needs to save money in the current climate

Rail and bus firm National Express says it plans to cut up to 750 jobs to save costs over the next year.

The firm said it was offering voluntary redundancies but could not rule out making any compulsory cuts.

National Express, which runs buses, coaches and the East Coast and East Anglia rail franchises, said that it needed to save £15m a year.

It said the job cuts would come from back office staff rather than workers serving customers.

A spokeswoman said some of the job cuts had already been made.

Voluntary redundancy has been offered to about 50 train catering staff across the North East.

In November, National Express said it would close its call centre in Norwich with the loss of at least 73 jobs.

The company, which employs 18,000 people in the UK, said its 2008 profit would still meet expectations.