NEARLY 50 jobs on Tyneside are to be lost in the latest round of redundancies announced by stricken electricals chain Comet.

Deloitte said 603 jobs have been lost from the company’s home delivery network, which operates from 12 hubs across the UK, including one in Gateshead where 45 people worked.

There have been no job losses to date at Comet stores so far, but Deloitte warned on Saturday that up to 41 stores may have to close before the end of this month.

The delivery network will continue to operate, with a significantly reduced workforce retained to complete deliveries and support the repairs operation.

Deloitte joint administrator Chris Farrington said discussions continued with parties interested in parts of the business but that it was necessary to begin a store closure programme and to scale back the company’s support functions.

He added: “While we will continue to do all we can to preserve jobs, we are working hard to put in place comprehensive support to help those employees who are made redundant.”

A closing down sale with increased discounts has begun in 27 stores, though none in the North East are currently affected.