Lidl set to close warehouse in Walsall that's 'no longer fit for purpose'
Discount supermarket giant Lidl has announced it is set to close its warehouse facility in Walsall.
Company bosses said the site in Talbot Close, Bloxwich, was no longer fit for purpose with operations moved to other existing facilities in the region.
Discussions with the workforce, consisting of around 100 employees, has begun and representatives for Lidl said they hope to redeploy the vast majority of people in other centres.
No jobs are being lost today and the Walsall site will remain operational for the next 12 months.
Lidl moved into the centre in 2008 but said the building is around 50 years old and was not purpose built for their requirements.
The company’s regional distribution centre for the area is based on Axeltree Way in Wednesbury, three miles away.
A Lidl GB spokesperson said: “In recent years we have invested significantly in the expansion and optimisation of our warehouse infrastructure, to support our growing operations across the country.
“Since 2008, our Walsall facility has been a key support function for our stores and distribution centres however, the site itself is not purpose built having been constructed 50 years ago and, with multiple buildings of varying ages, it is no longer able to meet our operational requirements.
“With regret, we are proposing the closure of this location with a view to consolidating operations within our newer warehouse facilities nearby.
“Our focus will be on supporting all impacted colleagues and we are proposing to offer alternative roles at nearby sites, such as at our Wednesbury warehouse, where possible.”
Earlier this week, Lidl had a planning application for a new store on an old bingo hall in Park Lane, Darlaston, deferred to enable them to negotiate with officers to address highways concerns.
The firm has already been granted permission to build two new supermarkets elsewhere in the borough – on the site of the struggling Horse and Jockey pub on Walsall Road in Walsall Wood and on Walsall Road at the borough’s boundary with Sandwell.
But the company was unsuccessful in its bid to create a new store on the site of the Metro Hotel and Broadway Bar on Birmingham Road.
