Anger as Telford Aga shop to close within days

The shop, at the oven manufacturer's assembly plant in Ketley, will close its doors for good this Friday.

A sign in the window of the showroom in Station Road today apologised for the inconvenience, and directed customers to shops in Kidderminster, Chester, Machynlleth and Nantwich.

But customer Catherine Griffiths, from Norton, said she was not happy at all about the closure.

"I have an Aga and it makes me feel I don't want to shop there any more," she said.

"It will mean that the nearest store will be in Kidderminster and I'm not going there.

"I feel that Aga is such a strong brand in our county and yet it is Shropshire which is bearing the brunt."

Mrs Griffiths said the staff at the shop were extremely friendly and helpful and recently raised £3,299 for the Severn Hospice.

"The staff love working there and they are heartbroken by this," she said.

The closure is part of a rationalisation programme which was announced by the company in December.

Nearly 70 jobs are set to go at the company's sites in Ketley and Coalbrookdale.

It is believed that three staff will lose their jobs at the showroom, with a fourth having already left.

The union representing Aga workers said it was "disappointed" by the plans when they were announced.

The redundancies follow a strategic review of the business by new owners Middleby Corporation.

These will include 35 manufacturing jobs out of 210 at the two sites, plus another 30 staff roles from its assembly plant at Ketley.

Unite regional officer Matt Jones said: "Unite is strongly opposed to any compulsory redundancies and will do whatever possible to support our members during this difficult time."

Another 30 jobs are facing the axe at Aga shops across the country, but no others will close as part of the restructure.

The company has been looking at the "strategic aims" of the business since it completed a £129 million takeover of the business, under pressure from its American rival Whirlpool, in July.

Despite the shock announcement, Middleby said last month that it had no plans to shut either site, and that it hopes to complete the cuts through voluntary redundancies.

Nobody from the company was available for comment last night.