Supermarket giant Morrisons is to close its flagship £10 million store at Radclyffe Park in Ordsall, Salford, staff were told this morning.
Over 200 jobs at the store could be affected.
It’s one of 11 branches which are due to close under new plans to turn around the profit-hit chain.
Morrisons has also confirmed today that it is pulling out of the popular and well-used location at Armitage Avenue in Little Hulton.
Read: Morrisons to pull plug on Little Hulton supermarket
It’s understood the Ordsall store will cease trading by the first week in November.
A Morrisons spokesperson told SalfordOnline.com: “We have looked extremely carefully at whether this store in Salford can be turned around but unfortunately we cannot see a way of making it viable.
“We are therefore proposing its closure.
“We are consulting with colleagues and unions and we will be discussing how to reduce redundancies and redeploy colleagues around our business.”
The 50,000sq ft superstore opened in September 2011 at the District Shopping Centre development on Pheobe Street off Trafford Road.
Along with a 156-bed Travelodge hotel, it was seen as a key tenant for LPC Living, who oversaw the £50 million scheme.
Over 100 jobs were specifically offered to local people after intervention from former Salford and Eccles MP Hazel Blears.
It’s understood Morrisons will try to find jobs for Salford staff elsewhere but if this is not possible they will face redundancy.
Morrisons Group HR Director, Norman Pickavance, said at the time: “We arrived in Ordsall determined not to be just another faceless retailer and knowing that the area had big challenges.”
On Wednesday 9 September Morrisons announced it would sell off 140 of its unprofitable ‘M local’ convenience stores for £25 million, losing £30 million in the process.
The supermarket has reported a 47% drop in half yearly profits.
In a statement the chain said the sale of its ‘M local’ stores “represents the best solution for Morrisons and will enable future Morrisons investment to be focused on core supermarkets.”
Councillor Ray Mashiter, who represents Ordsall, said the loss of the store would be a ‘devastating’ blow for the area.
He told SalfordOnline.com: “To hear that Morrisons will be walking away from Ordsall is devastating news, after personally working so hard to bring Morrisons to Ordsall and having the success of employing overwhelmingly local people in the store.
“This will be a bitter blow to our community in Ordsall.
“I can only urge Morrisons to help and support their staff to find new employment.”
He added: “I will be seeking to sit down with Diageo, who are now the landowner of the supermarket section of the District Shopping Centre, and I will do my best to secure new employment opportunities for local people once again.”
