AROUND 200 people at Macmillan Science and Education in Basingstoke face losing their job if they decide not to relocate to London.

The life-changing decision has come about as the academic and trade publishing division of Palgrave Macmillan, based in Houndmills Road and Brunel Road, on the Houndmills Industrial Estate, prepares to move to a new campus in the King’s Cross area of London by the middle of next year.

In total, around 200 roles are affected, including those who joined the company after plans for the move were first mooted in 2011.

Sarah MacDonald, head of external communications at Macmillan Science and Education, said the new campus is a significant investment for Macmillan, which is part of German media group, Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck.

Commenting on the planned relocation, she said: “The decision was not taken lightly, and we do, of course, understand the impact that that decision has had on our employees.

“All of our employees had the option of continuing in their roles, and we have worked consultatively with them over a period of two years to ensure we made every effort to support those people who wanted to move, including offering a package of financial and relocation support.

“We’ve also worked hard to ensure we offer similar support for those employees who have chosen not to move.”

Employees have until next Friday to say whether they wish to relocate or not.

Miss MacDonald said the new campus will become the division’s global headquarters, where more than 1,600 people will be based.

Around 200 Macmillan employees will remain in Basingstoke, including those working for archives and distribution, and the Nature Publishing Group.

“Despite this wider move, we remain committed to our operations in Basingstoke and have future plans for refurbishing our premises there for the significant number of our employees who will not move to London,” said Miss MacDonald.