Shop Direct redundancies

David Johnson, Usdaw National Officer for Shop Direct, said:

“The closure of four Shop Direct sites and the subsequent loss of so many jobs has come as terrible news for our members.

“Usdaw opposes the closures and we are examining the business case in further detail through our national forums to see if there is any way to avoid the job losses. We have already met with the company and have further meetings booked over the next few weeks.

“Shop Direct is looking to redeploy workers at its Middleton warehouse to nearby sites at Shaw, Little Hulton and Raven Mill. However should the Burnley and Newtown closures go ahead we will be doing all we can to ensure that our members receive the best possible redundancy package and assistance in finding alternative employment. We will continue to keep our members fully informed throughout the process at this difficult and uncertain time.”

Site closures are:

Burnley contact centre – 420 jobs – Usdaw organised

Newtown contact centre, Powys – 180 jobs – Usdaw organised

Middleton warehouse – 175 jobs – Usdaw organised

Sunderland contact centre – 900 jobs – GMB organised

Sites are due to close April 2010.

Notes to Editors:

• Contacts for newsdesks: Usdaw’s Media Officer, can be contacted on 0161 249 2469 or e-mail communications@usdaw.org.uk
• Usdaw (the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK’s fourth biggest trade union, with over 380,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemicals and other trades.
• More information and news releases are available at our online Newsroom.
• Subscribe/unsubscribe to Usdaw news releases via our online e-news service at: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/site/email.html

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