A spokeswoman for the firm said that the closure was part of a wider company policy of consolidating smaller operations into larger call centres.

Workers at the Wayne centre, however, will not be offered new positions at larger call centres as its work is being transferred to a different state, she said.

Around 100 part-time jobs were axed in February last year when Western Wats closed another call centre in Nebraska, this time in the town of Chadron.

The firm said at the time that it had to make “corresponding adjustments to its workforce” as the economic climate caused clients to reduce their spending.