Argos in Stamford to close in May 2020 with outlet opening at Sainsbury's supermarket two doors down in Ryhall Road
People who work at the Stamford branch of Argos have been told the store will close.
The announcement, which affects jobs at the town's Markham Retail Park in Ryhall Road, was made on Tuesday, leaving staff 'shocked and upset'.
They were told that all staff will be offered the chance to be 'redeployed' within Argos. Some jobs will be at an Argos concession that will be in-store at Sainsbury's, located two doors down at the same retail park.
Other staff members may be offered jobs at Argos outlets outside of Stamford. The nearest are at the 'Argos Digital' outlet which is within Sainsbury's in Bourne, and the Argos stores in Peterborough and Corby.
One Stamford store employee, who wants to remain anonymous, said: "It's not a nice thing to be told two weeks before Christmas.
"Although they say they are hoping to avoid redundancies, not everyone will want to relocate to the Argos stores in other towns, especially people who work part time, or need to be in town to collect children from school.
"It's created a lot of uncertainty for people at Christmas. I also can't help but think it's been announced close to the General Election so it doesn't feature so much in the news."
The Argos store, due to close on May 27 next year, has been in Stamford for nearly 25 years.
Sainsbury's has owned Argos since September 2016 when Home Retail Group agreed to be taken over for £1.4bn.
