HUNDREDS of workers at the Customs office in Liverpool face an uncertain future, after it was announced the waterfront building is being shut down.

Union representatives believe that hundreds of jobs are under threat after the HM Revenue and Customs announced yesterday that staff will be re-deployed to other offices within the city centre or the Triad building on Stanley Road, in Bootle. However, a spokesperson for the government department said that there were no plans for redundancies at this time.

She said: “The vacation of Queens Dock offers the greatest benefits to HMRC – it is a more cost-effective solution. We anticipate being in a position to vacate Queens Dock by September, 2012.

“Capacity in Queens Dock could not be increased without significant cost to the department. Ultimately, we have to be sensible with taxpayers money and the building is not being used to its full capacity.

“The staff based at Queens Dock will be relocated and we will work with them during this process.”

However, Vicki Searle, union representative for Public and Commercial Services (PCS), said that HMRC have to cut 13,000 jobs nationwide and there are serious concerns the axe will fall in Liverpool.

Miss Searle, who works in the contacts centre at the Queens Dock building, said: “We are concerned for people who cannot relocate because the distance is too far for them to travel, or particularly women who have childcare responsibilities.

“There are no real guarantees and workers are worried redundancy will follow if they don’t relocate to Bootle.

“There are real issues with relocation to the Triad. Some people cannot use lifts because they suffer with vertigo and claustrophobia, and the Triad is a nine-storey building.

“There are also concerns about how they are going to be able to accommodate an extra 500-plus people.

“There are already 1,000 people working there and there are worries about health and safety. We really will be squeezed in like battery hens.”