In the region of 20 jobs are expected to be lost at the Argos store at the Monaghan Retail Park on the outskirts of the town at Cornacassa following the announcement by the general merchandise retailer last Thursday that it will close all its stores and operations in the Republic of Ireland by the end of June. Argos said it “arrived at the decision to leave Ireland following a long period of careful consideration and a thorough review of its business and operations in the country. Argos concluded the investment required to develop and modernise the Irish part of its business was not viable and that the money would be better invested in other parts of its business.” The Mandate trade union expressed disappointment at the decision. It said it would be engaging intensively with the company to get the best possible deal for the workers being made redundant. “Because Argos is shutting down its complete operation in Ireland this amounts to a collective redundancy which requires a 30-day consultation period and we know the company intends to honour that obligation to engage,” Mandate’s Michael Meegan stated. “We will be using this period to negotiate the best possible terms for those who are losing their jobs and we are expecting a constructive response from the company.” Argos stores will remain open to customers in the Republic of Ireland until June 24. After March 22, customers in Ireland will no longer be able to pay for orders via the Argos website or place orders via its home delivery service. Orders placed up to this date will continue to be fulfilled and customers will still be able to reserve products online and pay for them in…
