Staff at Supa IGA in Armidale have been told not to comment as rumours of the grocery outlet’s possible closure circulate the city.
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The Express learnt Tuesday that staff were apparently told they may not have work after August 24, but Carlo's IGA group managing director Carlo Cavallaro says this is not true.
Mr Cavallaro, who owns 14 IGA stores in NSW, doubled down Wednesday on his denial that the Supa IGA store on Beardy Street is facing closure.
Read more: ‘Working through issues’ but Carlo says there has been no decision to close Supa IGA Armidale (July 24, 2018)
Staff were reportedly told the business would make efforts to help out-of-work employees transition into possible employment with Coles, the Express has been informed, but Mr Cavallaro denied any knowledge of this.
"You are asking me a thing that I have no idea (about)," Mr Cavallaro said.
"We haven't told anybody that we are closing anything."
A statement from Coles made no mention of cooperation with IGA to help transition staff, however a spokesperson noted that the Armidale outlet was seeking to hire additional employees for its existing staff of 160.
The spokesperson said Coles Armidale had employed 14 new staff in the past month on the back of its “Click and Collect” initiative and that the business welcomed “all applications” to fill further positions that have opened since introducing the new service.
Mr Cavallaro said on Wednesday that some of his staff had been given notice of termination, but said emphatically that no decision had been made about closing the store.
It is estimated the Armidale’s Supa IGA employs around 15 staff members, some of whom would work on a casual basis.
The Express has sought comment from staff and the store’s local manager, but they declined.
Mr Cavallaro repeated comments he made Tuesday that the business was "working through some issues", though he would not say what those issues were. He said they were private.
The grocery chain director said that he had been "negotiating with the landlord" and that there had been a lot of speculation about the store’s possible closure.
Mr Cavallaro declined to comment further.
The IGA group was established in the 1980s when Mr Cavallaro purchased three Payless Supermarkets and moved to Tamworth. The company’s website lists 15 locations in NSW and Queensland and says it employs around 1500 people.
Simon McCarthy
Simon McCarthy is a journalist working at the Newcastle Herald in NSW. He writes news and features, and produces video and multimedia, for the Herald and Herald Weekender magazine. He contributes regularly to the Newcastle Herald’s daily Topics column, and is the co-creator and producer of the Toohey’s News podcast. McCarthy has worked as a journalist in regional NSW since 2013. He joined the newsroom of the Newcastle Herald in 2017 from the Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he worked from 2015 to 2016.
Simon McCarthy is a journalist working at the Newcastle Herald in NSW. He writes news and features, and produces video and multimedia, for the Herald and Herald Weekender magazine. He contributes regularly to the Newcastle Herald’s daily Topics column, and is the co-creator and producer of the Toohey’s News podcast. McCarthy has worked as a journalist in regional NSW since 2013. He joined the newsroom of the Newcastle Herald in 2017 from the Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he worked from 2015 to 2016.
