Tax office jobs to go

More than 140 jobs are to be lost in the Black Country and Staffordshire as tax offices are to close.

Capstan House, in Brierley Hill, Rogers House, Cannock, and Stafford's Greyfriars House are among the 14 buildings in the region to be closed by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

Officials announced the closures yesterday with the plan expected to be fully implemented by 2011.

Nearly 80 people are employed at Capstan House, on Waterfront East, Brierley Hill, and 45 at Greyfriars House, in Greyfriars Road, Stafford, both of which are affected by the plans. Forty-eight jobs are affected at Cannock.

Staff have been already been told they will have to move to other offices in Worcester, Coventry, Stoke or Leamington Spa to keep their jobs. Capstan House is expected to be closed by Spring 2010. However the tax inquiry office at the nearby Bridge House will remain open.

HMRC bosses say it will make no difference to the service they offer.

One anonymous member of staff at Capstan House said the news was a massive body blow and said that to move offices would be a massive upheaval.