Jobs to go at theme park due to crash fallout

Last month, Merlin Entertainments revealed a sharp drop in revenue across its theme park division as visitors stayed away from the Staffordshire attraction following the crash on The Smiler rollercoaster.

Leah Washington was one of five people seriously injured in the incident on June 2. The 17-year-old from South Yorkshire had her leg amputated while her boyfriend, Joe Pugh, also of Barnsley, suffered shattered kneecaps.

The theme park was shut for four days after the incident.

Yesterday, the operators said: “At the end of a very difficult year, Alton Towers Resort has confirmed a proposed restructure of the business to be completed in time for the opening of the new season in March 2016.

“Regretfully however, it may result in the loss of up to 190 salaried jobs across the resort.

“We anticipate some of these will be accounted for by a programme of non-replacement of existing vacancies, early retirement, redeployment elsewhere in the group, and voluntary redundancy.

“As soon as employee representatives have been appointed a consultation period will begin.”

The firm said it hoped the reorganisation, combined with “a continuous programme of capital investment”, would help protect “the bulk of jobs” at the resort for the future.

Last month, its owner announced plans to build numerous attractions across China - including the development of a Legoland park in Shanghai - as part of a joint venture with China Media Capital.