MANDATE SAYS 580 JOB LOSSES CONFIRMED FOR ARNOTTS AND BOYERS

Friday 15 February 2008

Meetings being organised to discuss redundancy terms

Mandate trade union today (15 February 2008) stated that there will be approximately 580 job losses across the two Arnotts stores in Henry Street and Boyers’ later this year as the development of the Northern Quarter begins. The number of redundancies is exclusive of those which are likely to arise in the concessions within the current Arnotts complex.

Mandate assistant General Secretary, Linda Tanham said, “It’s a sad day for a lot of Arnotts’ and Boyers’ loyal staff who’ve given years of loyal service to the company and its customers. The development of the Northern Quarter is coming at a huge cost to these workers and their families.”

A series of meetings is currently being organised between Mandate and management to discuss redundancy terms.

Ms Tanham said, “Ideally we would like all of the redundancies to be voluntary, but unfortunately we expect most redundancies will be of a compulsory nature.”

Arnotts currently employs approximately 900 staff and the closure will mean over 60% will be made redundant in the immediate future while the remaining staff will be moved to the Jervis Centre while the developments take place.

Boyers will cease trading at the end of June while Arnotts will close at the end of August to allow for the development of the Northern Quarter. Boyers will reopen in August as Arnotts at Home and will deal mostly in furniture.

Arnotts will reopen in 2011 with a larger store in the Northern Quarter where Arnotts are expected to employ approximately 1,000 workers. The three-year redevelopment plan comprises 47 retail outlets, 17 cafes, restaurants and bars.