SHOP Direct workers will find it almost impossible to find new work in Crosby, the town’s MP said last night.
Claire Curtis-Thomas, Labour member for Crosby, said the news had not come entirely as a surprise, as consumers were opting to buy online instead of using call centres.
“It’s an appalling piece of news for my constituents. Hundreds of the people who work there come from Crosby.
“It’s so sad, it was a way of life for generations. The impact will be incredibly profound.
“It was a fantastic employer in terms of offering flexible working hours, and because of that around 80% of its workforce was women.
“Finding similar work locally will be an impossibility because this is the biggest employer we had.”
She said she had spoken to the JobCentre, the Department for Work and Pensions, the chief executive of Shop Direct, the chief executive of the North West Development Agency (NWDA), The Mersey Partnership, and the Learning and Skills Council.
All the parties will meet on Monday morning at Crosby’s JobCentre to discuss other employment opportunities for the staff, retraining and other employment uses for the site.
Ms Curtis-Thomas said: “The NWDA are currently looking at what the site might offer in terms of other employment opportunities for other companies.
“Steve Broomhead [NWDA chief executive] is fantastic. I don’t know what he might have up his sleeve, but I know he is the best man for the job because he makes things happen.
“Littlewoods has been struggling on that site for a number of years. It’s a call centre and people are opting out of call centres and ordering online.
“I am sure this news would have come irrespective of the recession.”
Mr Broomhead added: “It is an uncertain time for the employees, the advancement of online purchasing and changes in customer behaviour in the retail sector is producing challenges for the call centre.
“I have been in contact with the CEO at Shop Direct today, and we are looking at the support arrangements they have in place and we will be working with our partners in Merseyside to provide a joint and integrated response to the challenges facing staff.
“We will do all we can to support the workforce.”
Steve Dickson, chief executive of Sefton Chamber of Commerce, said: “All we can do is support the various support agencies, such as JobCentre Plus.
“Jobs can be found in other business sectors, and while we hope they can be found locally, people will have to be prepared to travel more.”
