Jobs axed as Makro store to shut
Cash and carry giant Makro will close its Wolverhampton branch within just weeks, leaving 127 workers out of a job, it has been announced today.
Bosses said it was a "sad day" for Makro after late-night crisis talks with trade union Usdaw failed to find a way of keeping the Wednesfield store open.
The branch in Steelpark Way will close on May 31 after being branded "unviable".
Another 139 workers will lose their jobs at the Coventry branch while 112 at Swansea are also set to be axed. The Halesowen branch is safe.
Caroline Hutchins, human resources director at Makro, and Irene Radigan, national officer for Usdaw, today put out a joint statement announcing the closures.
"This is a very sad day for Makro in the UK as this is the first time the company has decided to close stores," it said.
An answerphone message has already been recorded to tell shoppers who telephone the Wednesfield branch that it will close.
The company blamed "difficult trading times and a need to reduce costs" for the decision to close the store, which opened in December 2003. A meeting for workers has now been lined up for Wednesday, March 11.
