A bus operator is to close its Dundee depot and move 100 employees out of the city in an effort to cut costs.

Stagecoach's Smeaton Road site will cease operations on August 14 and the firm is consulting its employees.

In a statement, Stagecoach said most workers will be protected by moving to alternative locations.

Last month, the company said it was carrying out a review of its operations in Dundee as a result of high operating costs at the depot.

After meeting with representatives of Unite the Union it has confirmed the relocation of its bus operations in Dundee.

Andrew Jarvis, managing director of Stagecoach East Scotland said: "We understand that any changes are unsettling for our people. That is why our approach has been to involve our employees at all stages of our review.

"We have had three key priorities: to protect the jobs of our employees, maintain services to our customers in Dundee and ensure a sustainable business for the long term. The changes we are making to our operation provide the best balance of achieving these objectives.

"We have a number of existing depots elsewhere in east Scotland that we have identified as potential relocation sites for those currently based in Dundee. These include Arbroath, Blairgowrie, Forfar, Glenrothes, Perth and St Andrews.

"We expect the majority of staff will relocate to these alternative sites.

"We will be giving our staff at Dundee depot every assistance during transfers to alternative depots in the area and we do not expect the relocation to significantly affect services.

"We have no plans to change our operations at Dundee bus station and our focus continues to be on providing our customers with high quality and excellent value local bus and coach services."

The company said the move will result in "no significant changes" to local services.

Stagecoach East Scotland currently employs around 1400 staff across Fife, Perthshire, Dundee and Angus, with 100 employees based at Dundee depot.

A spokesperson for the company added: "The majority of staff are expected to relocate to alternative depot locations in the surrounding area.

"Employees at the site have been able to discuss their preferences with the management team and the company will be working hard to accommodate these over the coming weeks.

"The depot relocation is not expected to have a significant impact on the operations of any local Stagecoach bus services.

"Separately, a number of proposed service changes are currently being considered through a public consultation as part of an on-going route review to better match the demand for local routes within a continued fragile economy."