ABOUT 70 full time and 40 part time workers at the Harry Moore Ltd chain of electrical stores in Dublin are to lose their jobs following a takeover by the large British company, Dixons Group.
According to a statement issued by Dixons on Saturday, "an initial review of the business has now been completed and 52 members of staff at the Harry Moore chain will be retained as part of the Dixons Group."
The statement also said that a number of part time jobs would be made available within the group for 15 stores staff. The remaining members of staff, an estimated 70 full time and at least 40 part time workers, say they are upset, angry, frustrated and disappointed by the news at the weekend, which they say has come out of the blue.
The contract to complete the purchase of the Harry Moore chain of shops was formally signed last Saturday.
The workforce gathered in Jurys Hotel on Saturday to meet representatives of the Dixons Group for the first time and hear what the new management had planned for them.
Each staff member was called into a room for a one to one meeting with a representative of the Dixons Group. They were each given a letter which stated: "following our plans to close several stores in the Harry Moore network and a review of our requirements, it is likely that the position you hold will be made redundant." The letter also gives each staff member notice that "the position you currently hold will be made redundant on 8th March.
The workers were also handed a sheaf of papers containing advice on how to apply for jobs, how to fill in CVs and how to succeed at an interview.
Dixons says that staff have been aware that there could be a small number of redundancies since the purchase was announced.
The staff disagree with this and claim they knew nothing about what was going to happen to them until they met Dixons on Saturday. They were told on Friday at 5 p.m. to come in at 10 a.m. to Jurys. Staff at the chain of Harry Moore shops around the city have continued working to sell stock to clear at cut down prices over the past several weeks.
"We were kept in the dark," one worker said on Saturday. "It's an insult. We are senior sales people. We have worked our guts out ... We didn't even get lunch hours."