Bridgwater Argos distribution centre talks due to end soon
Unite the Union tell us their counter proposals were rejected, while the Sainsbury's Group says they're fully considering any ideas submitted
The future of the Argos distribution centre in Bridgwater, along with hundreds of jobs, looks set to be decided in the next few weeks.
Unite the Union and the Sainsbury's Group have held a series of consultations in recent months.
The union tells us they believe up to 230 jobs are being put at risk by the site's potential closure, and that any counter proposals they've made to Sainsbury's have been rejected.
Tim Morris, Unite Regional Officer, said: "The idea was to change the use of the site to become a really environmental friendly hub for distribution. We live in hope that Argos will want to revisit this and have further discussions but that seems increasingly unlikely. There is a real risk to our members jobs and we are very concerned for them.
"There are some options in retaining the jobs. The South West is a hue area, it's a growing population with many more houses being built. Finding a new way of servicing and keeping the Argos brand working in this region is something that should be important to Sainsbury's Argos."
A Sainsbury's spokesperson has told us: "Last year, we shared plans to bring the Sainsbury’s, Argos and Habitat logistics networks together and confirmed a number of our existing depots would close.
“Our Bridgwater depot is one of those sites and we are having open and constructive consultation sessions with colleagues and their union representatives. As part of this we are fully considering any counter proposals that are submitted, we will continue to support our colleagues in any way possible.”