EXCLUSIVE – ‘I’m leaving Wilko after working there for SEVEN years… it was fun while it lasted’: Devastated staff share emotional posts as they leave troubled budget retailer for the final time – as thousands are laid off amid B&M takeover
Devastated staff have shared emotional posts and team photos as they announce their final days at Wilko as thousands are laid off.
Members of staff took to LinkedIn to post emotional goodbyes to their teams as they reflected over their time with the retail giant.
Others directed their post to potential employers to ask if there were any jobs going for them.
Teammates showed each other a heartwarming display of support, wishing fellow staff members ‘good luck’ and vouching for their talents.
One member of staff who would be walking away from the high-street chain after joining when she was still a teenager, posted a pithy message on LinkedIn that revealed the gravity of the loss felt by Wilko workers.
‘It seems fitting that my first LinkedIn post is about wilko. Yesterday marked my last day after 7 years in a business and role I’ve loved and will certainly miss.
Teammates showed each other a heartwarming display of support, wishing fellow staff members ‘good luck’ and vouching for their talents
‘I joined when I was 19 and during my time I’ve worked with and for some amazing people.
‘I’m truly grateful for all the opportunities presented to me, I’ve learnt so much, gained new skills and enjoyed every second.
‘I’ll look back with great fondness and fab memories.
‘But right now I’m looking forward for the next challenge, onwards and upwards from here!
‘Wishing the best of luck to all my friends and colleagues in this weird new world’.
A space planning assistant manager at Wilko posted: To say I’m devastated is an understatement.
‘I’m saddened that my Wilko career has come to an end like this. If anyone knows of any roles that might suit my skills then please get in touch’.
It comes a day after B&M bought up to 51 other Wilko stores in a deal worth £13 after administrators failed to secure a rescue deal for the beleaguered high street chain.
Customers at a Wilko store which is set to close next week spoke of their sadness and concern that the unit will be left empty on the high street.
One shopper at the Acton store in west London described the closure of 52 stores as ‘another nail in the coffin for the high street’.
Administrators for troubled retailer Wilko have today revealed the locations of 52 stores which will close after failing to secure a rescue deal for the beleaguered high street chain
PwC, which was appointed to oversee the insolvency last month, said it remains in talks with parties interested in buying the remaining parts of the business
The store was also compared with Woolworths which entered administration in 2008. Michael Penning, 74, a business consultant from Acton who was shopping for paint brushes, said: ‘I think it’s a shame, a big big shame, it’s another nail in the coffin for the high street.
‘It kind of filled a gap Woolworths left, it doesn’t have everything, but it filled a gap. I’m not sure what’s going to fill the void.
‘It’s just such a good place to shop for so many different things. ‘They’re competitive in price and the quality is pretty good.
‘It’s going to be another empty unit on the high street. ‘They’ve got their own reasons why their business model is not working, but it must be like for everyone in retail – the pressures from rents, rates and energy.’
Mr Penning added that he believes people are going to be forced to shop online, which he described as ‘a shame’.
READ MORE: Full list of 52 Wilko stores set to close next week REVEALED… is YOUR local shop shutting?
He said: ‘Big companies are pushing people towards self-scanning, it’s a gentle process to put people towards self checkout, that’s how it’s all going to go because they want to save on staff.
‘It’s a shame because certain members of the population, elderly people possibly, go to their local shop and it’s a social thing for them and we’re moving that out of the way for artificial intelligence essentially.
‘People are going to be forced to shop online, but it’s not the same experience. ‘Going out shopping is a kind of leisurely pursuit.’
Donovan Julies, 50, a solicitor from Acton, said he ‘feels for the workers at the store’. He said: ‘I spoke to one of the ladies last week and she said they didn’t know what was happening in terms of their jobs.
‘For the local community the shop has been a lovely place, lots of people come here. It’s very sad.
‘Some of the women who work here are breadwinners and it will impact their family’s finances.
‘What is going to come into the space? Wilko hasn’t been here a long time. It reminds me of Woolworths.’
Former mathematician David Wright, 80, from Gunnersbury, west London, discovered Wilko within the last couple of months and said he comes to buy stationery.
He said: ‘One of the things I like about places like this, there’s all kinds of things you can get.’
Asked for his reaction to the news the Acton store is due to close, he said: ‘I was sorry. I’ve only just found the place and only just heard it’s going.
‘How a place like this would fail I don’t know. It’s got great stuff, I don’t know what’s wrong with it.’
Laura Everett, 31, an implementation manager from Acton, said: ‘I do come here quite often, there isn’t anything that’s really the same.
‘Some of the things I get from here, such as white vinegar, I don’t know anywhere else I can get it from. ‘I will miss it really.’
PwC, which was appointed to oversee the insolvency last month, said it remains in talks with parties interested in buying the remaining stores the business that haven’t been snapped up by retail rival B&M.
Administrators added that ‘it is possible that further store closures may regrettably be necessary’, depending on talks with remaining suitors.
It is understood that HMV owner Doug Putman is still in discussions with PwC over a possible deal to save a significant number of stores.
The raft of closures next week will lead to 1,016 redundancies, while the company has also announced hundreds of further job losses affecting warehouse and service centre staff.
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