Store bosses set off fire alarm then sack staff in car park

So when bosses at a struggling department store were faced with the prospect of letting 140 staff go, it was a particularly heavy responsibility.

But rather than call each employee in one by one or sending an apologetic letter to each, they chose a different approach.

They set off the fire alarm, assembled the workforce in the car park and then read out a short statement informing them they no longer had a job to go to.

Last night, the move by bosses at Robbs - a landmark store in the Northumberland market town of Hexham for 189 years - was condemned by the local Tory MP.

Peter Atkinson said: "I understand that the alarm was sounded to gather them all in the same place, where they were given notice of redundancy.

"It is a rather brutal way of doing things, especially when you consider that many of the staff have given many years of loyal service to the store."

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Mr Atkinson added: "It is the end of a long era. It takes away part of the history and character of the town and that's very sad."

The staff, unaware of what was about to come, had gathered in the car park on Wednesday morning expecting it to be nothing more than a fire drill.

Instead they were told that there was some "bad news".

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Having fallen into difficult times and with its parent company in administration and a buyer not forthcoming, the store was to close in two weeks.

Before being ordered to return to work they were told not to speak to the media about the impending closure.

But one devastated employee said: "The way we've been treated is appalling and to find out in this way has infuriated a lot of people."

The crushing news came after parent company, Owen Owen, went into administration earlier this year.

The firm had already sold the 100,000 sq ft store to Scottish property company Buccleuch last September for £7.7 million in a sale and leaseback deal but had hoped to find a buyer for the business before now.

Last night, a spokesman for the company said: "It is at the discretion of the store management how the staff are given the news. The fire alarm was set off to clear the store of members of the public."

He said talks with a potential buyer had collapsed and so the store would inevitably have to close.

He added: "We appreciate that this is a difficult time for everyone involved and I would again like to thank all employees, store concessions and customers for their continued support during the administration process."

The closure has also raised fears about the future of the local post office and butchers who operate from the same building.

Michael McGregor, a 53-year-old married father of two who runs the butcher's inside the building, said: "Staff were in tears when the closure was announced.

"When the fire alarms went off we all had to usher the customers out of the store then gather at a meeting point in the car park.

"From there they took us back inside, stood us around the food hall tills where we have staff general meetings and told us that the shop would close.

"The general manager made the announcement and he was in absolute floods of tears.

"Quite a few of the women burst out crying as well. It was a total shock.

"We were all hoping someone would buy the place and take over. Now we are all out of a job."

Mr McGregor, who has worked there for seven years, added: "The administrators are in today sorting out our redundancy packages.

"This shop closing will rip the heart out of this town. It will kill Hexham."

A food hall cashier who did not want to be named said: "It was really upsetting and I've got to look for work now.

"We've been told we're not allowed to talk to anybody and you have to speak to the bosses for comments."