Shop Direct redundancies in Shaw
Reporter : Judith Grinter
The online retailer, Shop Direct, which owns Very.co.uk and Littlewoods. com said it will shut sites in Shaw, Little Hulton and Raven from mid-2020 onwards.
Online retailer Shop Direct is to close three sites in Greater Manchester, impacting nearly 2,000 jobs.
The move puts 1,177 Shop Direct jobs at risk and the future of 815 agency workers in doubt.
The online retail giant announced the move as it revealed plans to create a new distribution centre in the East Midlands.
Derek Harding, CEO of Shop Direct said: ” This is a tough day for this business and we know how difficult this news will be to hear for our teams in Shaw, Little Hulton and Raven. However these proposals are necessary for our future and to enable us to continue to grow and meet rising customer expectations. ”
Debbie Abrahams, MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth, whose constituency covers Shop Direct’s Shaw facility, told Saddleworth News and Life: “This is devastating news for the Shop Direct staff and their families and the anticipated redundancies will have a dreadful effect on the local community.
“I’m bitterly disappointed that Shop Direct failed to engage with the council or myself before this morning about their plans to move to the East Midlands in
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the 18 months that this has been planned.
“I’ll be working closely with the council, unions and Mayor of Greater Manchester’s office to ensure that Shop Direct management are coordinating properly
with trade union representatives and that they keep their commitment to support staff impacted by these anticipated redundancies with relevant financial support, training and advice.
“I’ll also be writing to the Prime Minister, and government ministers to demand they are fully engaged in the process of supporting my constituents through this difficult process.”
Author: Jude Gidney - Editor
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This could well be the best thing to happen for the residents of shaw in the last 30 years.
The town has been crushed under the weight of the HGV’s coming and going for years. It is estimated around 800 HGV’s are thundering through the town centre and access routes every 24 hours. On the A663 Milnrow road, it is not unusual to witness 10 or 12 HGV’s PER MINUTE. In addition to this , 1600 + employees coming in and out every day as the majority employed reside outside of the town.
Oldham council has failed to act on any concerns residents had about road safety issues and the unsuitability of the road network. Had Oldham council addressed the issues and reinvested some of the millions taken from the sites in rates over the years back into the road network , 1600 people may still have jobs to go to.
I would urge Debbie Abrahams to acknowledge the residents of Shaw and their thoughts on the closure. Everyone I have spoken to so far are extremely happy to hear the unacceptable noise, polution and HGV traffic may finally be coming to an end after years of suffering.
The fear remains though that Oldham council will readily sacrifice the town of Shaw and its residents yet again if another suitor becomes available for the soon to be redundant property.