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Bridgwater depot set to go

8:00am Tuesday 16th March 2010 in


Bridgwater'S giant Somerfield supermarket depot is set to close - putting 400 jobs in jeopardy, the Mercury can exclusively reveal.

Although The Co-op, which owns the depot on the Huntworth Business Park, refused to confirm the decision, we can reveal workers were called into a meeting last week and told the site would be closing next year.

One Bridgwater employee, who did not want to be named, told the Mercury: “We were taken into the canteen and all told in one go.

“They said a new depot would be built, although they don't know where, and told us we would be shutting down in the second half of 2011.”

The shock revelation means the 400 workers on the site, including pickers, loaders and lorry drivers, are facing redundancy or possible relocation.

It also comes less than a year after 150 jobs were axed at the depot, following Co-op's takeover of Somerfield.

The employee added: “Some workers were surprised, but others knew it might happen.

“It's really unfortunate timing - I have a young family and a mortgage to pay.

“You wonder where the next pay packet is coming from, especially with the credit crunch.”

Steve Leahy, chairman of Bridgwater Chamber of Commerce, said: “This is a real loss for Bridgwater.

“But if a buyer can be found to take over the site and run a similar type of operation, hopefully as many jobs as possible can be retained.”

The Co-op said no decisions had been made about the location of its new regional depot or the future of its Bridgwater centre.

Wincanton, the company which runs the Huntworth site, declined to comment.

Comments(8)

broken_news says...
8:34am Tue 16 Mar 10

Well, that'ss definitely not wjhat I call responsible journalism. First of all, nobody has set this term for sure and there is no feedback from Co-op headquarters concerning that issue. There's been a kind of an announcement, but it did not even refer strictly to the possible closing. Frankly speaking, no further conclusions can be drawn from that statement. Besides, the very date is doubtful; perhaps it's worth mentioning, that not all workers have been informed in the way described in the article. I suppose this article goes a bit too far and tends to create future from the solutions, which are merely probable. Greetings for all readers of BM.

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townrunbyclowns says...
10:31am Tue 16 Mar 10

oh well looks like were have more cheap lego homes,..or another supermarket!!

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Donna-T says...
3:57pm Tue 16 Mar 10

This is a result of Globalism the company does not have any loyalty to the worker or local community, they will relocate to another part of Europe to cut costs i expect, so sad to see the de-industrialisation of this once great country.

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broken_news says...
8:13am Wed 17 Mar 10

With all due respect... Why should a company supplying the logistics chain for English shops move abroad??? It does not add up...

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twinkles says...
3:08pm Wed 17 Mar 10

Donna-T - shut up! You obviously know nothing at all about the depot, what it does or any of the real story behind this article.
To clue you up (even though you don't deserve it!), it's a distribution warehouse for local Somerfield and Co-op stores. If they're going to relocate, it's likely to be to a fairly local 'part of Europe', isn't it? AND, it's hardly 'de-industrialisatio
n', it's a warehouse for storing food, not a mill, colliery or manufacturing plant.
To hijack a local newspaper site to promote your political agenda is a fairly low thing to do, it's a great shame that some of the less clever members of the public viewing these pages aren't able to differentiate between REAL politics and your personal blend of provocation and tin-pot idealism.
When you come to visit the town, and you've met some it's people, you will be more qualified for an opinion.

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townrunbyclowns says...
11:13pm Wed 17 Mar 10

lets hope donna doesnt meet you twinkles, as you have a road map for bridgwater and think its the 9th wonder of the world!! wake up twinkles and do one with somerfield

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twinkles says...
7:53am Thu 18 Mar 10

Lets hope she doesn't meet me? I've got nothing to hide, and I've got nothing but positive ideas for and about the town. Really, lets hope she doesn't meet you. All you want to do is talk the town down, and all who support it.
This article is about Somerfield, and if and when they may relocate the depot. Nothing has been decided yet, so to tell me to 'do one with somerfield' (sic) doesn't make any sense at all. Again. You're showing yourself to be a bully here TRBC.

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broken_news says...
8:18am Thu 18 Mar 10

Donna-T, I wish I could read more of your comments concerning the town and the region. You're just hidden behind a couple of clichees, knowing actually nothing about the town and the depot. Just to enlight you, a chain supplier's RDC should be close to the middle of the circle encompassing region it serves and if there's any possibility of dislocation, it will never be more than 1/3 of the radius, i.e. 40 miles. Bragging about moving to anywhere in Europe is nothing but an outspoken noncsence from the logistical point of view. If you really want to loose this election, your further comments are more than welcome.

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