Hardware retailer Mitre 10 is laying off staff at its Albany support centre to reduce costs during the Covid-19 lockdown.
All Mitre 10 and Mitre 10 MEGA stores are closed to the public but trade supplies for essential services and essential goods can be ordered online.
Photo: 123RF
The company's chief executive Chris Wilesmith said in a statement that the orders only deliver a small fraction of its pre-lockdown revenue.
"Along with many other businesses in the retail sector, we have been forced to carefully consider opportunities to reduce costs until we can reopen our stores to the public. As part of that process, we have identified projects that can be paused temporarily or concluded early," he said.
"Regrettably, this decision has meant that, in a small number of cases, we have had to bring forward the natural end date of the fixed-term contract roles supporting these projects. We are working closely with the team over the coming weeks to explore all options."
Wilesmith said 5 percent of the support centre team have been on fixed term contracts working on projects "which would have concluded naturally in time with the project outcome".
"Post recent conversations and engagement with these team members, they are now working out their notice period earlier than planned.
"Mitre 10 remains fully committed to our team and communities. We are looking forward to welcoming our customers back in store when we can open our doors again."
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