Up to 450 people will be made redundant by Carphone Warehouse in a cost-cutting exercise, the firm said today.

The jobs will go at Carphone's West London head office and call centres in the Midlands and North West. Retail outlets won't be affected.

The cuts follow an announcement by the firm in January that it was seeking to make savings across its businesses, amid dire warnings to staff about the economy from CEO Charles Dunstone.

The staff marked for redundancy will now enter a statutory consultation period, when Carphone Warehouse is obliged to seek jobs for them elsewhere in the company.

Carphone Warehouse is planning to expand its retail presence in the next year with a joint venture with US electronics giant Best Buy. New out of town superstores will take on Currys and PC World. ®