Staff at eight county branches of troubled holiday firm Thomas Cook were today breathing a sigh of relief after learning their were jobs were not going to be axed.

The company said it will close 178 UK stores over the next two years as it battles to turn around its ailing business with 115 of those to be shut following staff consultations by March.

But about 40 staff at branches in Cowley, Witney, Abingdon, Didcot, Bicester, Wantage, Carterton and Banbury are not among those affected by the immediate closure programme.

Spokesman Emma Knight said: “For the remaining 63 stores it will be business as usual and they will reviewed on a case by case basis looking at the profitability of the store, its proximity to other stores and when leases come up for renewal.

“We have not started identifying those stores at this stage.”

The announcement came as the group revealed it had slumped to a £398m pre-tax loss in the year to September 30, compared with a £42m profit in the previous year, after it was hit by poor trading in the UK and the Arab Spring put tourists off travelling to Tunisia and Egypt.

The company, which sells more than 22 million holidays a year in the UK, delayed its results last month as it revealed it had gone back to its lenders to ask for an additional £100m lifeline.

Its shares slumped 75 per cent in one day amid fears for its survival but the 170-year-old company claims it is now on a sound financial footing.

Interim chief executive Sam Weihagen said: "Customers have been very supportive in recent weeks and are continuing to book with Thomas Cook.

"Bookings outside the UK were broadly unaffected by news of our refinancing and in the UK bookings have recovered well.”

Manuel Cortes, general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association, said: "This is deeply disappointing news for Thomas Cook staff, especially at this time of the year in the run-up to Christmas.

"We want immediate talks with the company's chief executive to see just what we can do to mitigate the impact of this announcement on our members."