SCORES of Midland jobs were in jeopardy after insurance giantPrudential revealed it was to close four regional branches and layoff staff.
The branches at Birmingham, Dudley, Coventry and Stafford are toshut down by 2001 as part of a nationwide programme of cuts.
And a total of 840 sales consultants and sales management staffacross the UK are to go by the end of this year under the Pru'srationalisation programme.
The four Midland branches earmarked for closure are among 103branches nationwide which will be shutdown within two years.
Staff at the centres face a lengthy wait over the future of theirjobs after the Prudential announced that a total of 10 new regionalcentres would be opened following the closure of the branch network.
A Prudential spokesman said: "It will be difficult to say if jobswill be lost permanently with the closure of branches as we will notknow until plans for the regional centres are announced."
Firm bets
on Internet
punters
A MIDLANDS betting operation is hoping to pull in the punters incyberspace by raising pounds 1.5 million to set up an interactiveInternet site and take a place on the Ofex exchange.
Warwickshire-based Firststake, which has 14 shops around theregion, is putting three million shares on the market at 50p each -a move that if all were taken up would value the firm at pounds 6.5million.
For their latest venture, bosses are betting on the explosion inInternet use, where there are 147 million users globally but anestimated 327 million by the end of next year, continuing itsrelentless growth.
Firststake believes that by the end of next November it can boostits sales to pounds 10 million and enjoy profits of pounds 400,000.
The company, with former merchant banker Karim Ghaidan and ex-Ladbrokes manager John Moore as the driving force, hopes it canoutflank the rising number of off-shore betting sites with lowcharges.
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