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The Mandate union says 490 retail workers formerly employed at Arcadia Group’s Irish outlets, including Topshop, will be permanently laid off.
The news was released to workers at a meeting earlier today between Mandate officials and liquidators Ken Fennell and James Anderson of Deloitte Ireland.
The Arcadia Group’s Irish operation, whose other brands include Topman, Dorothy Perkins, Burton, Miss Selfridge, Evans and Wallis, went into liquidation in November, after its parent group in the UK came into management.
The collapse was attributed both to the pandemic and a progressive shift toward online retail.
Arcadia’s UK operation employed 13,000 employees in 444 stores through brands such as Topshop, Topman, Dorothy Perkins, Burton, Miss Selfridge, Evans and Wallis.
Irish liquidators Deloitte had allowed all 14 Republic stores to continue trading over Christmas to maximize share value.
However, since the government reimposed Level 5 restrictions that forced stores to close again, workers have been laid off and claimed Pandemic Unemployment Pay (PUP).
It was hoped that a buyer could be found for the UK operation, and that this might offer some hope of saving at least some of the Irish jobs.
However, with online retailer ASOS currently being the preferred bidder in negotiations with the UK manager, it seems increasingly likely that an online business will buy the items online, resulting in a pessimistic outlook for the “physical” retail model.
Sources close to the Irish liquidation said the decision to proceed with the formalization of the layoffs was due to the fading of hopes of finding a “physical” buyer for the deal.
There were also concerns that the current lockdown would continue well beyond March 5, making trading impossible.
They noted that the 30-day consultation period with the unions has ended and that the dismissal notices will now be issued and processed in the usual way.
However, the sources said there could be a “ray of hope” if online bidders were to withdraw and a traditional retailer were to re-bid.
They also pointed out that if the blockade is finally lifted, part of the staff could be rehired on a temporary basis to sell the stocks that are still inside the stores.
Mandate official Jonathan Hogan described today’s layoffs as a “milestone” in relation to retail.
He said big-name employees were being laid off once again, with the prospect of online digital companies taking over traditional retail.
He promised that Mandate would continue his campaign for stricter legislation to boost workers’ firing rights in the context of a liquidation.
Mandate said there had been a 2014 collective bargaining agreement that provided for improved severance pay of four weeks per year of service, including legal firing.
However, it is understood that Deloitte has confirmed that the 490 former employees of Arcadia’s stores will only get a legal layoff of two weeks per year of service, capped at 600 euros per week.
A similar situation occurred when the Irish Debenhams operation went into liquidation last year.
There had been a 2016 collective agreement that stipulated a four-week pay per year of service, but the KPMG liquidators said they could only pay for the legal layoff.
Since then, former Debenhams employees have been picketing the 11 stores to prevent liquidators from removing stocks and completing the liquidation.
A review of the Debenhams dispute by Labor Court President Kevin Foley found that the 2016 collective agreement “had no legal application” in the context of a settlement.
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