Kmart has confirmed its Westfield Warrawong outlet will close within months, leaving the store’s 133 retail staff to contemplate their futures.
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A spokeswoman for the retailer yesterday confirmed workers were told on March 1 the store would close its doors in mid-June.
She said Kmart had planned to stay put in the Warrawong centre but negotiations with Westfield to remain at the site had failed.
‘‘Kmart’s lease at Westfield Warrawong expires this year and despite our best efforts Kmart has been unable to negotiate another lease with Westfield,’’ the spokeswoman said.
‘‘The loyalty and hard work of our 133 team members is admirable and the store closure is in no way a reflection of the store team.’’
In planning documents lodged with Wollongong City Council in January, Westfield revealed the centre’s Kmart store would be replaced with another discount department store and a new supermarket.
A spokeswoman for Westfield yesterday said the company was unable to comment on the plan, which had yet to be approved.
Kmart, which is owned by Wesfarmers, also has stores in Figtree and Shellharbour.
The company’s spokeswoman said every effort would be made to help the Warrawong staff find other jobs.
‘‘Kmart will work towards exploring all possible redeployment options both within Kmart and within other Wesfarmers businesses to avoid team member retrenchments,’’ she said.
Shop, Distributive & Allied Employees’ Association branch secretary Gerard Dwyer said the affected staff had been asked to submit their preferences for possible redundancy or redeployment.
He said Wesfarmers was making a genuine effort to assist the Kmart staff and the union would continue to work with the company.
Rumours have been circulating that a new Target store may set up shop in the space, however a spokeswoman for the retailer said she was unable to respond to the Mercury’s questions before yesterday’s print deadline.
