Heywood's MP says he has held 'urgent' talks with Argos bosses after they announced plans to close a huge depot in the town which would mean the loss of around 350 jobs.
Sainsbury's - which owns the high-street catalogue chain - yesterday unveiled plans to merge five existing depots across both brands into three over the next three years, with two being closed.
One of those earmarked for closure is the Argos depot on Heywood Distribution Park off Pilsworth Road. A site in Basildon, Essex also facing the axe.
It is part of a planned overhaul of Sainsbury's logistics networks which means 1,400 roles across the country are now at risk with a consultation period having begun.
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The supermarket giant declined to specify exactly how many jobs are affected at the Heywood site. However, officials at the trade union Unite said around 750 jobs were under threat as a result of the two warehouse closures, approximately 350 of which are at Heywood.
The news has been met with shock and dismay by local leaders. Today (Wednesday) Tory MP for Heywood and Middleton Chris Clarkson said he sat down with Sainsbury's officials to quiz them on the rationale for the decision.
He said he had also contacted the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to ask for support for the hundreds of affected staff.
“I am disappointed and concerned by Sainsbury’s planned closure of the Heywood Argos depot" he said in a statement issued to the Manchester Evening News. "I had an urgent meeting today with Sainsbury’s to ask for an explanation of its decision and the business case for closing the site.
"Additionally, I have contacted the DWP asking them for engagement with affected workers. I will continue to pursue every channel available to keep the depot open and save the jobs of affected workers.”
Yesterday evening, the leader of Rochdale Council Coun Neil Emmott said the announcement was 'clearly a major blow for Heywood and the borough as a whole and above all for the workforce at the Argos unit.'
"The Council will be making contact with Argos to try and persuade them to stay or if that's not possible we need to work out how best to protect the livelihoods of the workforce going forward to the closure" he said. "We will engage with Argos, the trades unions and the workforce on this issue.
"If the closure is unavoidable, then we will engage with other local businesses to secure alternative employment opportunities for as many people as possible."
Angela Brown, councillor for West Heywood, who said she had been 'proud' to have the firm based in the town, said she felt 'let down' by the decision.
“I am really concerned by Argos' announcement. I don't understand their justification for putting their employees through this, especially during this cost of living crisis.
"People are already struggling to pay rising rents and bills, whilst Argos is making good profit. I've been proud to have Argos in my town for years, now I feel like they're letting us down.
"As a Heywood Councillor and a Unite member, I'll work with council and union colleagues to try to come up with a solution that preserves jobs and support their employees in anyway I can.."
In addition to the direct job losses are the jobs of HGV drivers employed by Wincanton, on an outsourced contract, which are also at risk, Unite added. They have said there is 'no economic justification' for the move and have vowed to 'fight to preserve every job' by putting forward an alternative business case.
National officer Matt Draper said: “This is an incredibly wealthy company which should be investing in its loyal workforce rather than dumping workers in pursuit of short-term profits. If Sainsbury’s doesn’t drop its closure plans then Unite will pursue all avenues to preserve employment at these sites.”
Alongside the merging of the five depots, the firm said they would spend around £90m to further 'automate' their depot in Daventry, Northamptonshire. No jobs there are currently at risk.
Bosses say the changes, together with the ongoing expansion of its local warehouse network 'will create a simpler, more modern network to significantly improve availability, reduce stock and enable faster customer deliveries.'
They will also 'improve productivity and the working environment, as well as increasing resilience and flexibility for the future' they added.
Sainsbury's chief executive Simon Roberts said the decision 'had not been taken lightly.'
“Over the last few years, we’ve been working hard to transform this network as we make our business simpler, more efficient and more effective for customers" he said. "This also allows us to reduce costs, so we can invest where it will make the most impact for our customers.”
“We understand that this will be an unsettling time for affected colleagues, and we will support them however we can throughout this process" he added.
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