Following announcements last week that supermarket chain Morrisons is to close 11 of its outlets, it has been confirmed that the Shildon store is one of those set to go.
The decision to shut the ‘struggling stores’, including outlets in Northallerton and Sunderland, follows a decline in the company’s pre-tax profits.
A Morrisons spokesperson confirmed that 900 colleagues at the 11 branches would be affected by the decision, stating: “We have looked extremely carefully at whether this store in Shildon can be turned around but unfortunately we cannot see a way of making it viable. We are therefore proposing its closure.
“We are consulting with colleagues and unions and we will be discussing how to reduce redundancies and redeploy colleagues around our business.”
Staff at the Shildon store have not yet been given a closure date, however the store will likely close its doors sometime in November.
Both Shildon Town Council and MP for Bishop Auckland, Helen Goodman, have written to the Chief Executive of Morrisons calling on him to rethink plans to close their Shildon branch, which has only been open for around four years following its purchase from Netto.
Helen Goodman said, “This announcement is terrible news for Shildon. The closure of the Morrisons store will leave the town with no major supermarket.
“Whilst I understand that businesses have to make their own business decisions, I also believe that our major supermarkets making hundreds of millions of pounds of profit have a social responsibility to communities.
“I am asking for an urgent meeting with Morrisons to ask what efforts have been made to improve the footfall in Shildon and how they intend to support their staff during this time.”
Both Morrisons Supermarkets PLC and the manager of the Shildon store refused to confirm a closure date or provide the number of Shildon branch employees who will be affected by the closure.
Shildon & District's local community newspaper.
