Administrators announced the closure of the first Wilko stores.
A total of 52 stores will close their doors by the end of the day next Thursday, and more than 1,000 jobs will be cut.
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Administrators announced the closure of the first Wilko stores
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Empty shelves were spotted this morning at Wilko stores which are closing next weekCredit: Dirk Seyfried / Parsons Media
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A total of 52 stores will close their doors in the coming daysCredit: Dirk Seyfried / Parsons Media
Twenty-four branches will close on Tuesday, and two days later another 28 stores will close.
A total of 1,332 jobs were cut in the latest round of layoffs announced by administrators at PwC.
Edward Williams, joint administrator, said: “In the absence of viable offers for the whole business, it is unfortunately now necessary to close stores and make team members redundant from those stores.
“The loss of these stores will be felt not only by the team members who served them with such dedication, including through the uncertainty of recent weeks, but also by the communities they were a part of.”
Along with the job losses in stores, 229 jobs are being cut at the company’s two warehouses in Worksop and Newark.
Another 17 workers will be laid off in the company’s digital support center team.
PwC thanked staff for their support and said it “remains committed” to helping those affected.
But in a boost to staff and customers, Wilko’s big rival has saved 51 stores.
Here is a list of Wilko stores closing at the end of the business day on Tuesday, September 12:
- Act on
- Aldershot
- Barking
- Bishop Auckland
- Bletchley FF
- Brownhills
- Camberley
- Cardiff Bay Retail Park
- Falmouth
- Harpurhey
- Irvine
- Liverpool Edge Lane
- Llandudno
- Lowestoft
- Morley
- Nelson
- Port Talbot
- Putney
- Stafford
- Tunbridge Wells
- Wakefield
- Weston-super-Mare
- Westwood Cross
- Winsford
The following locations will be closed on Thursday, September 14:
- Ashford
- Avonmeads
- Banbury
- Barrow in Furness
- Basildon
- Belle Vale
- Burnley (relocation)
- Clydebank
- Cortonwood
- Dagenham
- Dewsbury
- Eccles
- Folkestone
- Great Yarmouth
- Blacksmith
- Huddersfield
- Morriston
- New Malden
- North Shields
- Queen Street Cardiff
- Rhyl
- Southampton-West Quay
- St Austell
- Stockport
- Truro
- Uttoxeter
- Walsall
- Woking
Today’s news comes after B&M agreed to buy up to 51 sites in a deal worth £13m.
There is still hope that more of the remaining stores could be saved, along with thousands of the 12,500 total jobs.
Administrators at PwC are “actively working with potential customers” and “investigating any interest in the reminder of the business”.
The closure and elimination of jobs was announced after it became clear that there was no interest from potential customers in these specific stores.
The full list of Wilko stores bought by B&M has yet to be revealed.
The GMB union yesterday indicated that workers at the 51 stores would not automatically transfer to the new owner as the deal only applies to stores expected to be rebranded as B&M.
The discount chain said more information on new store openings would be released alongside its half-year financial results on November 9.
The Sun previously revealed that weekend talks between Canadian businessman Doug Putman, who was looking at 300 stores, had run into problems with suppliers.
But a further 200 stores could be saved with Mr Putman’s new deal on the table, according to insiders.
The first wave of job cuts took place on Monday, with a total of 269 support center team member roles axed on the Worksop website.
A further 14 jobs at Kin Limited, a subsidiary of Wilka, were also cut after it also fell into administration.
This brings the total number of jobs lost so far to more than 1,500.
Wilko fell into administration on August 10 after the struggling retailer failed to find new business backers.
The company borrowed £40 million from Hilco in 2022, as well as cutting jobs and restructuring business leadership.
Chief executive Mark Jackson said the company had “left no stone unturned” in its bid to save the chain.
Your rights in case of redundancy
Companies may decide to reduce the number of employees, and employees should understand their rights.
You are entitled to statutory severance pay, but only if you have worked at your workplace for two or more years.
The statutory rate is based on your age, weekly wages and number of years in the job.
You will get:
- Half a week’s pay for every full year you worked under the age of 22
- A week’s pay for each full year you worked at the age of 22 or over but under 41
- A week and a half’s pay for every full year you worked while you were 41 or older.
But it’s limited to 20 years, and the maximum severance pay you can get is currently £16,320.
Some companies may offer to pay more than the legal amount. This will usually be in your contract.
In addition, you are still entitled to the salary owed to you for unused vacation days at the end of your notice period.
The government has a calculator on its website to help you work out how much you owe.
In the meantime, we’ve compiled a full list of retailers offering jobs to devastated Wilko staff.
To stay up to date with the latest news about Wilko, follow our live blog.
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