A UNION has poured scorn over the timing of an announcement that nearly between 90 and 100 Scots workers are facing redundancies two weeks before Christmas.

The GMB union says logistics giant DHL Freight UK have offered a "kick in the teeth" to 520 workers across the UK whose jobs are at risk as the firm looks to close its UK business.

The logistics firm DHL Freight UK is understood to have announced a period of consultation with a view to close its UK operations due to continued losses in profits.

Read more: Scottish budget 'should close economic growth gap with UK'

It is believed stagnating volumes and poor quality revenue have led to increased losses during 2016, exacerbated by very low peak volume.

The proposed move would lead to the closure of its depots at Aberdeen, Bellshill, Newcastle, Warrington, Wakefield, Coalville, Norwich, Andover, Bristol, and Exeter sites.

The Herald:

The DHL Freight depot in Aberdeen that is under threat of closure

The GMB said Cardiff and Hemel Hempstead sites have closed in the last few months, and Exeter partially closed during the recent period too. This resulted in a loss of nearly 100 jobs.

Mick Rix, GMB national officer said: "This announcement is a kick in the teeth to the loyal, hard-working and highly trained workforce across the DHL Freight UK network.

“The constant false hopes, tinkering and change in direction of the business has contributed to the lack of customer confidence, which in turn has led to a loss of business.

Read more: Scottish budget 'should close economic growth gap with UK'

“DHL Freight UK has made this announcement two weeks before Christmas and the festive period. I am sure most staff will not thank the company for the worst Christmas present ever.

“It appears that the UK management team has given up on this business and its employees.

The Herald:

“GMB Union will work hard, to ensure our members are treated with the respect they deserve, and if the business cannot be saved, jobs are found for the highly trained and skilled workforce."

A letter sent to staff, believed to be from management, and released by the union said the business had been making a loss for the past ten years.

"This has been due to a number of factors, such as, increased competition in the market place which has led to customer churn and the fact that we have not been able to fill our network with profitable business. This has led to a significant decline, particularly in the last three years," the letter said.

Read more: Scottish budget 'should close economic growth gap with UK'

"To address this a country wide strategic review of the DHL Freight UK operations has taken place and it has been identified that we need to make fundamental changes to our UK operation."

It said they proposed "restructuring " the UK business, with a view to "ceasing to operate unprofitable service offerings".

A 90-day consultation is understood to have begun on December 8.

The Herald:

"We fully appreciate this is a very challenging and difficult time for everyone in Freight UK and we are totally committed to providing regular communications throughout this period to ensure you are kept up-to-date and involved in the process," the letter added.

It comes just two years after the RMT branded as "disgraceful" the timing of an announcement that nearly 3000 City Link workers were facing redundancies over the festive period.

The RMT demanded ''urgent talks'' with Business Secretary Vince Cable after it was revealed on Christmas Day that parcel delivery group City Link had gone into administration.

Coventry-based City Link, which has 2,727 employees, called in administrators from professional services firm EY after years of ''substantial losses''.

Some 500 of the jobs were to be lost in Scotland, where the company have major depots in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Motherwell and Livingston.

DHL said: “Following a strategic review of its UK Operations, DHL Freight UK has identified some business proposals and has now entered into a period of consultation with its affected workforce.

“We aim to meet our customer’s needs both today and in the future. We will do our utmost to mitigate any impact on our existing customers should these proposals or alternative solutions be implemented following consultation.”