Nearly 30,000 jobs to go as Woolworths closes it doors in January

Despite attempts to find a buyer for stricken retailer, Woolworths, administrators Deloitte have announced that all 807 stores will close by 5 January and all 27,000 permanent and temporary staff will lose their jobs.

The news comes as figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed that UK unemployment is at the 1.8 million mark.

The news is bleak for the High Street as a raft of well-known retailers have gone bust over the last few months.

Woolies has been an icon on the British High Street for almost 100 years, the retailer has been struggling under a mountain of debt of £385 million and has been under pressure from competition from large supermarkets and the internet.

Last week, it launched a closure sale at all its stores throughout the country as shoppers hunted for bargains. Prices were slashed by as much as 50% in a bid to clear stock.

According to Neville Kahn of Deloitte, first staff will start to lose their job on December 31.

Deloitte said there was still interest in parts of the business but admitted they had “not come close” to finding a buyer for the firm.

According to Mr Kahn, the main problem with finding a buyer for the business as a going concern is the lack of credit.

Potential buyers can see a future for the Woolworths brand but are unable to raise the funds to purchase it. Furthermore, paying for restocking would be required in order to get it operational again, said Deloitte.

Story link: Nearly 30,000 jobs to go as Woolworths closes it doors in January