American Express is a worldwide business so it's scarcely surprising the company is seeking to cut costs by looking closely at the Indian market.

It's not alone in taking advantage of much lower wages to set up a pilot call centre business there.

The worry in Brighton and Hove is that this could eventually lead to redundancies in what is the biggest company there.

Already some staff have been relocated from offices in Preston Road to the main building in Edward Street.

Amex says this has nothing to do with the Indian experiment and that it has suffered badly since the terrorist attacks in America.

The company may find it's possible to carry out some of its British operations in India to save millions of pounds a year.

But much of the staff expertise available to Amex in Brighton and Hove is specialist.

The city will have to hope that Amex, a vital part of the local economy for 25 years, finds that and other good reasons to retain the bulk of its business there.