Hays Travel is set to permanently close 89 stores across the UK after lockdown measures put pressure on the travel agency.
388 jobs are at risk as dozens of former Thomas Cook stores which were taken over by Hays in 2019, are set to close.
In a statement on Monday, Hays said the national lockdown and travel ban, which forced major holiday operators to suspend flights and holidays, meant the company had to act fast - reports Mirror Online.
Jonathon Woodall, chief operating officer, said: "Our first priority is to continue to look after our customers and we offer the highest standards of customer service through our retail, phone and online divisions.
"We are continuing with our robust two-year business plan and continue to be ready for the bounce back when it comes."
Dame Irene Hays, owner and chair of Hays Travel, said: "It was always our intention to review the performance of our shops at the end of the licence period – we had hoped the business would bounce back in January and it has not.
"We have done everything we could to safeguard jobs and the business thus far, and we have come up with a range of options for those at risk of redundancy to help as many colleagues as we can."
Among other options, employees will be offered the chance to join the Hays Travel homeworking division, to work from home, or take positions in other shops where there is a vacancy.
Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) general secretary, Manuel Cortes, said it's "a sad but inevitable move" as he accused the government of recklessness.
He said: "Today's announcement of 89 Hays Travel shop closures is a sad but inevitable move. With coronavirus rampant and the usual January booking of summer holidays absent, the travel trade continues to suffer.
"The Coronavirus has fundamentally changed our way of life and our ability to travel, but the government has been reckless in its failure to act. We should have had border restrictions and effective test, track and trace implemented last spring when the virus levels could have been controlled.
"We are witnessing the death of our loved ones, the death of the high street, and chronic mismanagement of our economy by this Conservative government. Lives and livelihoods are being lost every day while Tory cronies line their pockets with government contracts. The government must be held responsible for this shameful record."
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Hays Travel currently operates 535 shops and employs 7,700 people.
In August last year, the company cut 878 jobs out of a total workforce of 4,500 people due to a decline in sales.
Hays said it had "made every possible effort" to avoid job losses "during these extraordinary and distressing times".
It was "on track for recovery" when the Foreign and Commonwealth Office stopped advising against all non-essential travel in early July, but the decision to reintroduce restrictions for people going to Spain "triggered the cancellation of hundreds of thousands of holidays".
Speaking at the time, Hays Travel owners John and Irene Hays said in a statement: "We are devastated that after all of our efforts and the huge investment we've made we now face losing some of our valued employees, through no fault of their own.
"Following the decision to ban travel to Spain and the changes in furlough conditions coming at the same time, we have had no choice.
"We are also devastated for everyone who may lose their job and we will do all we can in consultations to help them, as we focus on retaining as many people as possible and rebuilding consumer confidence through our renowned friendly and knowledgeable customer service."
Founders John Hays and wife Irene were hailed heroes of the high street in 2019, after saving hundreds of Thomas Cook branches, which would have otherwise been wiped due to the collapse of the company.
John Hays, who was named Britain's best boss passed away last year, leaving behind the company and its 40-year legacy.
