Newtown's Shop Direct closes

One of Newtown's biggest employers was closing its doors for the final time today with the loss of 180 jobs.

Some workers at the Shop Direct centre in Newtown were in tears as they arrived for the last time this morning.

The catalogue call centre, based in the Pryce Jones building, which is undergoing maintenance work, is one of four Shop Direct centres in Britain to close over the last 12 months.

The growth in online shopping has been blamed for the closures.

Employee Sarah Fisher, from Newtown, who has worked at Shop Direct for seven years, said she hoped that those who had not found a job would find one soon.

She said: "We have known about this day for along time so it's no longer a shock, most workers have managed to find a job and for the ones who haven't good luck."

Councillor Joy Jones, the Mayor of Newtown, said it was a "devastating" day for the town and surrounding areas.

"This has been one of Newtown's biggest employers for many, many years and its just a very sad day for everybody," she said.

"The economy is suffering very badly at the moment as we all know but after today a big gap will be left in Newtown and it's devastating.

"I've spoken to a few of the workers and most of them are very worried about the future. A lot of them will be out of work and are afraid that they will be unable to find any work especially when times are so hard everywhere. It is going to turn a lot of lives upside down."

Montgomeryshire MP Glyn Davies said the closure would leave a black cloud in Newtown. He said: "It's going to leave a big hole in Newtown and one can only hope that the economy starts to pick up sooner rather than later so we can see more businesses move into the town."

County councillor Russell George said the job losses would have a serious effect on many people's lifestyles.

A spokeswoman for Shop Direct today said: "We recognise that this is a very difficult time for those teams affected by the contact centre closure."

The company previously said that over the past five years, its proportion of sales via online had increased from 18 per cent to more than 60 per cent.

By Anwen Evans