Belgian Carrefour supermarkets close over proposed job losses

Feb 24, 2010, 14:22 GMT

Brussels - Supermarkets owned by the international Carrefour chain closed in Belgium on Wednesday as staff protested against the closure of 21 shops and the loss of over 1,600 jobs.

Sources disagreed over the extent of the closures. Union officials told the German Press Agency dpa that around 75 per cent of the company's outlets were on strike.

But Carrefour spokesman Lars Vervoort said that 27 out of the company's 56 hypermarkets and just 15 out of its 61 supermarkets had shut down.

Over 500 other stores carrying the Carrefour name but owned by franchisees rather than the company itself were unaffected by the dispute, Vervoort said.

Carrefour, headquartered in France, entered Belgium in 2000, when it took over and renamed the financially troubled GIB chain. But its business has long suffered from high labour costs and falling market shares - problems exacerbated by the current economic downturn.

On Tuesday, the Belgian business' managers decided to close seven loss-making giant hypermarkets and 14 supermarkets across the country, and to sack the 1,672 workers employed in them.

The meeting also agreed a package of salary cuts and freezes to bring Carrefour Belgium's wage bill down to the level of its competitors.

Following the decision, international transport firm Kuehne and Nagel announced plans to close a distribution centre which carried out Carrefour's deliveries with the loss of up to 270 jobs.