Supermarket chain Sainsbury’s has confirmed it plans to close its superstore in Stockport town centre, the Manchester Evening News has reported.
Workers at the Warren Street store are expected to be facing redundancy by the beginning of 2021, however Sainsbury’s confirmed it planned to redeploy staff in other stores in the area where possible. The supermarket brand has previously announced plans to close 15 branches nationwide, while opening up to 10 new locations in the next five years. Last Autumn the retailer also said it also intended to close 40 convenience stores, however the Sainsbury’s Local at Stockport Exchange is likely to be unaffected.
An online petition has been set up, imploring Simon Roberts, CEO of Sainsbury plc, to reconsider the closure and avoid redundancies. Petition organisers have called the move a ‘slap in the face’ to key workers who were required to work throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and during a time of rising unemployment and wider economic uncertainty.
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said to the MEN newspaper:
We have updated colleagues on the difficult decision to close our Stockport store and we are doing everything we can to find alternative roles within Sainsbury’s for those affected.
“Customers can continue to shop with us at a number of nearby stores. For example, our Stockport Station Grand Central Square and Hazel Grove stores are a short drive away.”
As well as in Stockport, other Sainsbury’s stores nationwide have also been earmarked for closure by the retailer by January 2021, including in Crawley and Gloucester town centres. No other closures in Greater Manchester have been announced.