Oxfam announces 'difficult decision' to shut a Shropshire bookshop amid plans to make 265 redundancies

Oxfam Bookshop in Bull Ring, Ludlow, is due to serve its last customers on April 26 as the shop closes after more than a decade on the bustling street. 

A spokesperson for the company said the company was “sorry to have to take this step” and thanked the people of Ludlow for their support over the years.

They also assured customers that the Oxfam shop in the same street remains unaffected by this change. 

The full statement said: “We have made the difficult decision to close one of our Oxfam shops in Ludlow. 

“We are sorry to have to take this step and want to thank the local community, staff and volunteers who have supported us so generously over the years. 

“Customers are welcome to continue to donate and shop with Oxfam at our other shop across the road.”

The spokesperson continued: “Oxfam shops exist to raise as much money as possible to fund our work with communities around the world to overcome poverty and suffering. 

“We constantly evaluate the profitability of all our shops and sometimes this leads to difficult decisions about the viability of particular shops, as it sadly has in this case."

While there is no space to move all the books in the shop to the charity’s second site, all books are promised to be sent to other Oxfam bookshops across the country. 

The closure comes as the charity announces plans to put 265 jobs at risk of redundancy. 

In a statement issued earlier this week, Oxfam said it was seeing its retail and fundraising income impacted by the state of the economy. The charity was also contending with multi-year inflationary impacts on operational costs such as wages, utilities and, as of this financial year, increased National Insurance contributions. 

Oxfam said it will now enter a consultation process with its staff and trade union representatives regarding the jobs at risk.