Air Miles is a high profile company which has done well in Sussex and has now fallen victim to the Northern England lower cost syndrome.

It is a shame bosses at Air Miles want to relocate away from Crawley, where the company has successfully expanded from small beginnings.

Staff at Crawley are being offered new jobs at the call centre in Warrington in Cheshire but it is unlikely many will take up this offer.

They know they can leave Air Miles, easily find a new job in Crawley, where some firms are crying out for staff with good communication skills.

That will leave Air Miles free to recruit more people from the lower wage economy up North and reduce its operating costs.

In an age where communications are so sophisticated it would be possible to operate a call centre from virtually anywhere in Britain, relocations such as the one proposed will become more frequent, especially when operating costs can be lowered.