Concern at Empire job losses

From the archive, first published Tuesday 12th Feb 2008.

The senior union official representing workers at Empire Stores in Bradford, where 350 redundancies were announced last month, has questioned the French owner's commitment to Bradford and fears more job losses.

Val Pugh, national officer of USDAW, the shop and distribution workers' union, criticised the company for ignoring consultation procedures and questioned its commitment to continuing in the city.

She said she "feared the worst" for the Redcats UK operations in Bradford following a series of internal announcements that have left workers feeling shocked and anxious about the future.

When it announced the closure of Empire Stores, Redcats UK emphasised its commitment to its other Bradford-based businesses, the internet shopping operations of La Redoute, Vertbaudet and Daxon. But Miss Pugh accused Redcats of ignoring consultation procedures and refusing to give union officials information.

Redcats has denied the allegations saying it has "thoroughly" followed procedures during meetings with staff.

Miss Pugh said: "We are very concerned that the consultations are a shambles. On Friday when the latest announcements were made we were denied information until we demanded it. Analysts have been questioning the commitment of the French to the UK market for some time and our experience makes us extremely concerned about the prospects for Bradford. We fear the worst about the possibility of Redcats closing all its call centre operations in Bradford.

"Union officials have for many years worked with the business as best we can and we don't understand what's happening. People are feeling very worried and shocked about some of the information being given to them which is ignoring the established process."

One worker at Empire Stores told the Telegraph & Argus that managers had announced the complete closure of the computer and data inputting department Holdsworth Street, Bradford, and the immediate closure of the Wake-field-based warehouse, where 500 job losses were announced as part of the closure of the Empire mail business.

Following its decision to phase out Empire Stores, Redcats UK announced that the brand and its customer database was being be bought by Littlewoods Shop Direct Group.

A Redcats UK spokesman said : "We have followed the consultation procedure thoroughly as we implement the changes we need to make.

"Over the last month this has included a general meeting with staff, five meetings with union representatives and the real-time answering of questions from staff through the intranet we have established. We are taking proper account of the feedback we have received as we re-implement our plans to ensure the long term viability and growth of the Redcats UK business.

"We will keep on listening to union proposals to minimise the impact."