CALL centre operator HeroTSC appears to have given up hope of saving the jobs of the 106 employees at its Aviemore call centre after starting redundancy proceedings and moving ahead with terminating its lease.

Although the Indian-owned company insisted it would keep searching for a replacement for its lost HSBC contract until it is due to quit the office at the end of September, informed sources said it was not now expecting to repeat the feat that saw it replace a Bank of Scotland contract a few years ago.

Local MSP Dave Thompson said: "If it does close, it will be a terrible blow to Aviemore and the wider area. The equivalent number in a place like Edinburgh would be thousands."

Hero, which took over Larbert-based Telecom Service Centres five years ago, has nine UK call centres and employs more than 3000 people in Scotland. Other clients include Sky and Vodafone.