Union seeks potential buyers for Wilko warehouses to rehire employees
The union representing thousands of Wilko employees said there was “some interest” from potential buyers in taking over the collapsed retailer’s warehouses.
It is estimated that around 1,300 people were employed in the warehouses, but hundreds of layoffs have already been announced.
The GMB Union, which includes about 3,000 members who worked for the former retailer, said it hoped a deal could result in staff being rehired.
“We have worked with several associations to identify potential buyers for the warehouses in the hope that they will rehire many of you,” the union said in a bulletin to affected employees.
“We are pleased to announce that we have some interest in this and we will pursue this aggressively in the hope of attracting new opportunities for you.”
Earlier this week, administrators at PwC said there would be 299 redundancies at two warehouse sites in Worksop and Newport.
This results in 269 support staff at the Worksop site being made redundant following an announcement last week.
Further layoffs are expected there as no one has made a purchase offer for the locations so far.
PwC also confirmed the closure of 52 stores across the UK, resulting in 1,016 employees seeing their final days at the retailer when it closed next week.
Meanwhile, rival retailer B&M bought 51 Wilko stores, but the future of the around 1,000 employees who work there is at stake.
We make no apologies for placing blame squarely on the shoulders of the family’s former CEO and CEO and will continue to highlight her role in destroying a once-successful company while reaping millions in dividends
GMB also criticized the struggling chain’s previous management for failing to save the business and protect jobs.
It said: “We make no apologies for placing the blame squarely on the shoulders of the family’s former CEO and CEO and will continue to highlight her role in destroying a once-successful company while reaping millions of dollars in dividends.”
Lisa Wilkinson, the founder’s granddaughter, stepped down as chief executive earlier this year after the group secured emergency funding in the hope of stabilizing the business.
Chief executive Mark Jackson said the management team had “left no stone unturned” to revive Wilko in the run-up to last month’s collapse.
https://www.standard.co.uk/business/business-news/union-chasing-possible-buyers-for-wilko-warehouses-in-bid-to-reemploy-staff-b1105860.html Union seeks potential buyers for Wilko warehouses to rehire employees
