VIRGIN Atlantic will cull 500 jobs by the end of the year following a move from its Crawley headquarters.

Richard Branson’s firm is currently based at The Office, at Manor Royal. But it is moving to the Leonardo building in Crawley next year as it aims to invest £300 million by the end of 2018 into its service to customers.

In a statement Virgin Atlantic said the jobs will be lost through people leaving the business and not being replaced, redeployment and redundancies.

Craig Kreeger, CEO of Virgin Atlantic, said: “To truly position Virgin Atlantic for long-term and sustained success, we need to be more efficient.

“As a people-orientated business, these are extremely tough decisions to take, but we know they are necessary to secure our future.”

Investment in customer service will see wi-fi on all flights by the end of 2016 and improved food and refreshments on board.

The airline already has five 787-9 aircraft with a sixth due to be delivered this month.