Almost 200 retail jobs have been put at risk after supermarket Waitrose announced plans to close two of its UK stores.
The company, which forms part of the John Lewis Partnership, has earmarked its Newcastle city centre and Croydon stores for closure, affecting 123 people and 70 staff members respectively. Waitrose said it had taken the decision to close the store in Newcastle's Eldon Square, which has been trading for 14 years, amid “challenging” trading conditions.
The company said that the shop will close on November 12, subject to consultation with its partners working there, and that the announcement does not affect the John Lewis department store in Eldon Square. The firm said: “We have found trading challenging here in the last few years and, despite the best efforts of Partners, we have not been able to find a way to make the shop profitable in the long-term.
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"Our priority is our 123 Partners working in the store who will now enter a period of consultation. They will be fully supported throughout the process. If the proposed closure goes ahead, every effort will be made to find new roles for those who wish to remain within the Partnership.
"Opportunities will include transferring to local Waitrose shops or working for johnlewis.com and waitrose.com. Newcastle would continue to be served by waitrose.com in the event the closure is confirmed.”
The company said it is committed to providing support to partners who are at risk of redundancy and that its Retraining Fund will contribute up to £3,000 towards a recognised qualification or course for up to two years for any partner with two years’ service or more who is made redundant.
They would also be given access to a three month support programme with an outplacement specialist to help with CV writing and interview skills.
James Allen, head of retail for Waitrose, said: “We realise the proposed closure is very sad news for our Eldon Square customers and Partners working there, who have worked so hard. When we first opened here 14 years ago we had every intention that we would be here for many years to come, but unfortunately we have found trade challenging for some time. The future and wellbeing of our Partners is our priority and we will do everything we can to support them over the coming months.”
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