RETAIL WOE
Very.co.uk and Littlewoods owner Shop Direct to close three factories putting 2,000 jobs at risk
The firm plans to move to a fully automated warehouse and has put the jobs of 1,177 Shop Direct employees and 815 agency workers in doubt
ONLINE retailer Shop Direct is closing three of its sites in Greater Manchester, putting 2,000 jobs at risk.
The firm, which owns Very.co.uk and Littlewoods, will close sites in Shaw, Little Hulton and Raven from mid-2020 onwards as part of plans to move operations to a new automated warehouse in the East Midlands.
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The move puts 1,177 Shop Direct jobs at risk and the future of 815 agency workers in doubt.
Development of the new site in the East Midlands will start in May, and is expected to be up and running in 2021.
The site will be fully automated, which Shop Direct said would make processing orders quicker to help it keep up with consumer demand.
Around 500 new jobs will be created at the new site, and during peak periods Shop Direct expects to employ between 200 and 300 agency workers.
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"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," said Derek Harding, interim group chief executive of Shop Direct.
"However, these proposals are necessary for our future and to enable us to continue to grow and meet rising customer expectations."
All of the affected Shop Direct employees are now consulting with the group about the changes, with the Usdaw union supporting staff.
The retailer is owned by the billionaire Barclay brothers, David and Frederick, who also own the Daily Telegraph newspaper titles.
"For Shop Direct to continue to meet customer demand, the business now needs a new, purpose-built and automated facility in a central, well-connected location, that can accommodate all one-man fulfilment and returns operations on one site, and that provides room for continued expansion," the company added.
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It could be seen as a worrying time for factory workers as some firms take steps to replace humans with machines.
Ocado claims that it can now put together a shopping order of 50 items within just five minutes, thanks to the help of 1,000 robots.
Amazon is also planning to open a robotic supermarket staffed by just THREE humans, sources claim.
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