Up to 100 staff affected
Operating at Auburn Central for the past 15 years, staff were given the news on Thursday.
The company said it had also reached agreements with the landlords of stores at Chullora and Fairfield which will also shut in six months’ time.
The closures are part of a major shakeup up of the company outlined in April which included plans to close up to 30 stores along with distribution centres in Queensland and South Australia over the next three years.
Big W managing director David Walker said that in the months ahead they would “explore redeployment opportunities” for staff at other Big W stores or within the Woolworths Group.
“Supporting our team remains our priority and we are committed to doing the right thing by them,” he said.
“These are not decisions we take lightly and we regret the impact the closures will have on affected team members.
“We would like to acknowledge the support of the communities of Chullora, Auburn and Fairfield and the hard work and commitment of our store team members.”
A spokesperson for Auburn Central’s Centre Management confirmed that an agreement had been reached between the landlord, Elanor Investors Group, and Big W.
He said the closure would “facilitate Elanor’s repositioning strategy for the shopping centre, which will provide improved customer amenity and convenience, as well as an enhanced customer experience for shoppers”.
“The repositioning works are planned to commence in February 2020, with completion expected in late 2020,” he said.
