Nottinghamshire County Council vows continued support for ex-Wilko employees after retailer’s collapse

More than 2,000 people affected by the collapse of retailer Wilko will be offered further support in seeking alternative employment.

Nottinghamshire County Council has unanimously vowed to offer help and guidance to Wilko employees affected by the company’s demise.

Fifteen high street stores across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire will have closed within the next fortnight, and about 2,000 jobs have also been lost at the company’s Worksop headquarters.

Newark’s store closed on Wednesday, September 27.

Now the county council has backed cross-party plans to offer further job support to all people in the county affected by the company’s closure.

The motion — lodged by Labour group leader Kate Foale — asked the chamber to find support within the authority for some of the retailer’s former staff.

It was amended by the ruling Conservatives to outline support already offered to the affected employees before being given cross-party unanimous support.

The Independent Alliance then offered another amendment ensuring former Wilko employees are offered connections with employers who are “seeking candidates with similar skillsets”.

During the meeting, Kate Foale said: “It’s clear the closure of Wilko stores is a huge blow to our county.

“So many of our communities will be affected. For anyone who’s been into Wilko since the announcement, it’s been so, so sad.

“Some staff have worked there for years and working there for them felt like a family. They’ve lost their jobs at short notice and these are people who care about the communities they serve.

“We really need to... dig deep into our resources and use our position as a major employer to create training opportunities.”

Keith Girling, who proposed the Conservatives’ amendment, added: “We are connected with Wilko staff personally... and we are also available to take down people’s details if they have a specific role they are interested in.

“We’ve taken steps to engage with people on social media and that will continue.”

Helen-Ann Smith, who seconded the Independent Alliance amendment, said: “The closure of Wilko has left a huge gap on our high streets and sent shockwaves through Nottinghamshire.

“We need to do everything possible to help ex-workers from Wilko.”

Some jobs may be saved after rival retailer Poundland agreed with Wilko administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers to buy 71 Wilko retail units nationally, including the units in Beeston, Kimberley and Worksop.

All three stores will become Poundland units in the coming weeks and union GMB pledged to take steps to ensure affected staff at these stores are prioritised.

Retailer B&M has also agreed to buy 51 Wilko stores, though the locations of those units have not yet been confirmed.