Harlow: Tesco Deliveries Stop On Monday

12 July 2013, 13:23 | Updated: 12 July 2013, 13:26

Deliveries from the Tesco distribution centre in Harlow will stop on Monday, and the site will shut in less than three weeks.

In a statement, the company said: "From Monday, store deliveries currently being made from Harlow will transfer to Dagenham. 

"This follows the gradual transfer of store deliveries to Dagenham ahead of the Harlow site closure on 3rd August. 

"We would like to thank all our colleagues for their continued hard work during this period of transition." 

It announced in February it intended to shut the Harlow site after reviewing its distribution network. 

800 jobs at the Harlow site have been put at risk, although Tesco says staff have been given the chance to take up new roles in Dagenham should they want to. 

However, staff say they would have to cut their pay by a third and some believe the company wants to fill the jobs with much cheaper labour. 

At a public meeting earlier this year, Tony Wakefield, who works at the Harlow site, told Heart moving is not viable: "Most people want to go to Dagenham, but it is literally financially impossible. 

"I believe Tesco are putting an offer on the table so people can't go. "If my life depended on it, I cannot afford to go. 

"If you're paying £250 on petrol and your money has dropped by a third, people physically cannot get their and Tesco know that. It's a myth that they want to employ us." 

The company says salaries at distribution centres are set by local rates. 

After the announcement of halting of deliveries, MP for Harlow, Robert Halfon said workers were being massively let down: "It (the distribution centre) was one of the most productive in England, workers had given a huge amount of service to it. 

"Then to tell workers if they take a job in Dagenham they would, in essence, be paid much less was also unjust. 

"Many hundreds of people work at the site in Harlow, many have worked there for many years. 

"it's not just the people directly it's the companies nearby - taxis, shops - it has a massive secondary impact."