Blow to Mayo retail sector as Argos set to close
THE Mandate Trade Union has this morning expressed its disappointment at the decision by Argos to close all of its outlets in Ireland.
This includes its Mayo store at Hopkins Road in Castlebar, which is a huge blow to staff and the retail sector in the town.
The store in the county town has been trading since 2004 and employed a staff of over 25.
In a statement, Mandate official Michael Meegan said that the union will be engaging intensively with the company to get the best possible deal for the workers who are being made redundant.
He commented: “Today is a difficult one for Argos’s staff here in Ireland as they get the news that the company will be closing down here. Because Argos is shutting down its complete operation in Ireland this amounts to a collective redundancy which requires a 30-day consultation period and we know the company intends to honour that obligation to engage.
“We will be using this period to negotiate the best possible terms for those who are losing their jobs and we are expecting a constructive response from the company.”
In a statement, Andy McClelland, Argos Ireland operations manager, outlined: "Today we have announced the difficult decision to close all Argos stores and business operations in the Republic of Ireland. This includes the store located in Castlebar.
"We are committed to supporting our colleagues in any way we can and we are talking to all 580 colleagues across our 34 stores in the Republic of Ireland about their options.
"As part of our consultations with colleagues and Mandate, our recognised trade union, an enhanced redundancy package that goes beyond statutory obligations will be proposed.
"As with any major change to our business, we arrived at this decision after a long period of careful consideration and analysis of the business performance of our operations in Ireland.
"We concluded the investment required to develop and modernise the Irish part of our business was not viable and therefore we have sadly decided to consolidate our business and focus on our operations in the UK, including Northern Ireland.
"Our stores will remain open to customers until June 24 next. Our aftersales, returns, refunds and exchanges policy will continue to apply until Argos stores close. Customers in Ireland will no longer be able to place orders via the website or select the home delivery service after March 31, 2023.
"We are also communicating our decision to customers, landlords, suppliers and other stakeholders and we will be working closely with them over the coming months."
Castlebar Councillor Ger Deere said it is a very disappointing development for the commercial sector of the town.
He added his thoughts are with the loyal and dedicated staff members who are losing their jobs as a result of the shock decision.