Hundreds of redundancies expected at Wilko facilities this week

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has confirmed that 269 members of staff at Wilko’s Support Centre in Worksop will be made redundant by close of business today [4 September], with “further redundancies across the two distribution centres” in Worksop and Newport to be announced this week.

This follows the announcement in August that Wilko had gone into administration, appointing administrators from PwC.

Joint Administrator Jane Steer said: “It’s with great sadness that we announce these redundancies. We’re incredibly grateful to these team members for the support and dedication they’ve shown to the company, particularly over the last few very difficult weeks.”

“We will continue to do all that we can to support staff through this period of difficult upheaval, and to maximise their opportunities for a rapid return to work. Our priority is to ensure that all team members affected by redundancy are assisted in processing their claims with immediate effect.”

“We will be circulating correspondence to all staff as soon as possible which will outline the support available to complete redundancy payment forms. Advice and assistance will also be available from Job Centre Plus and other agencies.”

PwC has also confirmed that all stores are “currently trading and remain open”.

Managers at a number of retail companies have taken to LinkedIn to encourage those affected by Wilko redundancies to get in contact about open positions. Dunelm, Hobbycraft, and The Works have all offered guaranteed interviews to Wilko staff.

Logistics Manager has contacted PwC about the further redundancies at Wilko’s distribution centres and will provide an update on this story when an exact number can be confirmed.

UPDATE (5 September 2023): Click here for the latest development in this story, including confirmation of the number of redundancies at Wilko’s distribution centres.

Source: logisticsmanager.com