EAT plans to follow its parent company to Leipzig, where DHL moved its European hub operations after the government imposed night-flying restrictions in response to an avalanche of complaints of aircraft noise.

That move means that 180 staff will lose their jobs on 1 January 2010. Unions are demanding the same deal for those staff as was applied for the redundancies caused when DHL moved the majority of its operation in 2004. So-called retention premiums were paid then to stop workers jumping ship and to keep them on payroll until the scheduled move. In this case, however, the premiums would be cut by the equivalent of two months' salary because of the timing of the sackings.

"EAT staff, who have done everything possible to make the move go smoothly - training people in Leipzig, commuting back and forth - are now getting a slap in the face for their trouble," said Frédéric De Clerck, general secretary of the ACLVB union.