British retailer Iceland to close all eight Irish stores
British food retailer Iceland has announced plans to close all eight of its outlets in Ireland as part of a cost-cutting programme.
The company said the decision was made due its poor financial state and the fact that its Irish operation was losing money.
It said it could no longer sustain these losses and saw no prospect of the Irish operation becoming profitable in the future.
All Iceland staff in Ireland are expected to lose their jobs unless a buyer can be found for the chain.
The company’s Irish outlets are due to close by the end of the week.
Staff say they were only informed of the development last night.
In February, Iceland was bought by the Baugar investment group, the UK’s fifth-largest food retailer, which has already laid off a quarter of the company’s British-based staff.
