MERCHANTS CLOSURE FEAR
THE future of the Carmarthen branch of a well-known builders’ merchants chain has been plunged into doubt, with several other Welsh sites also under threat from closure.
Jewson is one of the largest building merchants in the UK, selling timber and materials all over the country from hundreds of branches.
The company, which employs thousands of staff, dates back to the 1830s and there are currently 20 branches throughout Wales.
However, reports suggested that its parent company, French-based Compagnie de Saint-gobain, were looking to sell Jewson, which it acquired back in 2000 as part of a buy-out of the Meyer Group.
Concern has been raised in recent weeks about the future of the Carmarthen branch of Jewson, which has traded in the same spot in Abbey Mead on the outskirts of the town centre for decades, with fears that the site is due to close imminently. Other branches in West Wales are also under threat, in Crymych and Llandysul.
THE future of the Carmarthen branch of a well-known builders’ merchants chain has been plunged into doubt, with several other Welsh sites also under threat from closure.
Jewson is one of the largest building merchants in the UK, selling timber and materials all over the country from hundreds of branches.
The company, which employs thousands of staff, dates back to the 1830s and there are currently 20 branches throughout Wales.
However, reports last week suggested that its parent company, French-based Compagnie de Saintgobain, were looking to sell Jewson, which it acquired back in 2000 as part of a buy-out of the Meyer Group.
Concern has been raised in recent weeks about the future of the Carmarthen branch of Jewson, which has traded in the same spot in Abbey Mead on the outskirts of the town centre for decades, with fears that the site is due to close imminently.
Other branches in West Wales are also under threat, in Crymych and Llandysul.
Meanwhile, Jewson sites in Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan and in Wrexham in North Wales also face uncertain futures, with staff currently in consultation with management.
The company has insisted that no final decision has been made about closures, but admitted that the five Welsh branches named above are facing “potential closure”.
Discussions are ongoing with staff over the possibility of “alternative solutions” if the closures are confirmed.
“No firm decisions have been made about closing branches,” said Leigh Hill, Jewson’s regional director for Wales and the West.
“We are currently consulting with colleagues at Jewson Carmarthen branch, as well as branches at Barry, Crymych, Llandysul and Wrexham in the north about the potential closure of the branches.
“We have some fantastic and loyal colleagues across these branches so we are working closely with these colleagues at the moment to consult on alternative possible solutions.”