Wilko: More jobs to go as 52 stores to close

A further 1,300 staff at the collapsed retailer Wilko are to lose their jobs.

Administrators PwC, who are overseeing the chain's sale, said 52 stores would close due to an "absence of viable offers for the whole business".

Wilko fell into administration in August after struggling with losses.

A full rescue of the chain is hanging in the balance after a deal tabled by HMV's owner stalled, but rival retailer B&M said it would buy up dozens of Wilko's shops.

However, the GMB union said Wilko workers at stores bought by B&M would not be transferred over and would still be made redundant.

The GMB said it was making enquiries about whether current Wilko staff could be given "preferential treatment" in applying for any B&M jobs that might become available.

And the fate of a further 300 stores remains uncertain, with proposals put forward by HMV's Doug Putman understood to have been held up due to funding issues.

Wilko was founded in 1930 and by the 1990s had become one of Britain's fastest-growing retailers. Today it employs around 12,500 people.

But the discount chain has faced strong competition in recent years from rivals including B&M, Poundland and Home Bargains.

The majority of Wilko stores are also on High Streets, which are struggling to attract shoppers with competition from suburban retail parks with car parking.

The GMB, which represents about 4,000 Wilko staff, said some 1,016 redundancies would be made at 52 shops across the country, with affected staff to be informed at 10:00 BST on Wednesday.

It added that 24 of Wilko's stores will close next Tuesday, with a further 28 to shut by Thursday next week.

PwC added that a further 299 redundancies would take place at Wilko's two distribution centres in Worksop and Newport, with roles being cut on Thursday.

Some 269 roles have already been cut at Wilko's support centre.

While the administrators said they were pleased by the £13m B&M deal, they also said it was clear that in discussions with potential bidders that some stores were not of any interest.

"In the absence of viable offers for the whole business, very sadly store closures and redundancies of team members from those stores are now necessary, in addition to the already announced redundancies at the support centre and distribution centres," said Edward Williams, joint administrator at PwC.

Administrators said they were continuing to "explore all interest in the remainder of the business and are actively working with potential buyers".

Some retailers such as Dunelm and Toolstation have urged Wilko employees to apply for roles.

Andy Prendergast, national secretary at the GMB union, said officials were "doing everything we can to secure a deal that would protect the majority of jobs and stores".

He said the latest announcement would be of "little comfort for those not knowing how they'll pay their bills".

"Every single redundancy is a person who will wake up facing an uncertain future," he added.

"The reality is years of mismanagement have led us here."

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