Administrator Deloitte has confirmed that all Woolworths stores will close by 5 January 2009, meaning 27,000 staff members will lose their jobs.
Neville Kahn from the company said that unless a last-minute bid for the retailer is received, then Woolworths will close permanently early next year.
He added that Deloitte is still in discussions with a number of potential bidders over the sale of about 300 stores. Food retailers are involved in these discussions.
The shopworkers’ union Usdaw criticised the decision to close all stores by 5 January, suggesting staff are only being given ten days’ notice of redundancies.
Usdaw national officer John Gorle said: “We have been informed by the administrators that the leases of up to 300 stores will be sold.
“This is terrible news, as it means that our members will be made redundant and not transferred to the new owners of these 300 leases as they are announced.”
Woolworths started a stock clearance sale last week after no buyers came in to save the firm.
A number of supermarkets are said to be interested in some sites that will become vacant after the chain closes.
GOOOD