Hundreds of postal workers will have to wait until next month to know if their jobs are safe.

Consignia, parent company of the Post Office, which employs 600 workers at Gatwick, is to axe up to 30,000 jobs throughout the UK.

The company hopes up to half the redundancies from its 220,000 workforce can be achieved through natural wastage.

A spokeswoman said she did not know what effect the cuts would have on Gatwick.

She said: "We expect a decision at the beginning of February. We do not know yet which sectors it will involve."

It is believed up to 10,000 white collar workers will lose their jobs, with the company stripping its middle management band.

Consignia has told the Communication Workers Union, which represents postmen and women and sorting office workers, there will be no compulsory redundancies.

However, there are concerns this assurance might be broken.

The £20 million Gatwick postal centre, which was built two years ago, handles mail for the Brighton and Redhill areas.