Online retailer Shop Direct is closing three of its warehouse sites in Greater Manchester (Shaw, Little Hulton and Raven), from mid-2020 onwards impacting close to 2,000 jobs, consolidating operations to a new £200m automated warehouse in East Midlands Gateway.
The firm, which owns Very.co.uk and Littlewoods.com, has put the jobs of its 1,177 permanent staff there, plus 815 agency workers, at risk. “Redundancies are anticipated as a result of the site closures,” Shop Direct said.
Derek Harding, interim boss of Shop Direct, said: “This is a tough day for the 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. We take very seriously our responsibilities to our colleagues, many of whom have been with us for a long time and who work tirelessly to deliver for our customers”.
The firm also commented that the new site, where around 500 permanent roles will be created, was “in a central, well-connected location” that “provides room for continued expansion”.
It said it would allow the business to “process more orders and use new technology to make the business more responsive, reducing the time it takes to get products to customers”.
