Jobs going as HMV closes

It’s one of nine stores set to close in the next two months throughout Northern Ireland after Deloitte said the closures were aimed to help secure the future of the rest of the business.

More than 100 people in Northern Ireland face losing their jobs.

A total of 109 people work in the NI shops that are among 66 UK-wide that will close over the next two months.

The administrators said those due to shut in Northern Ireland include the music and DVD retailer’s shops at Boucher Road and Forestside, Belfast.

Stores at Ballymena, Coleraine, Craigavon, Londonderry, and Newry and Newtownabbey will also close.

Across the UK, the closures will affect a total of 930 staff.

A spokeswoman for the administrators, Deloitte, said that there would generally be redundancies in Northern Ireland but there was a small opportunity for some staff to be redeployed.

Last week, it was confirmed that about 190 jobs had been shed across HMV’s head office and distribution network.

HMV entered administration in January. It has faced intense competition from online retailers, digital downloads and supermarkets in recent years.

HMV currently operates from 220 stores in the UK.

Deloitte said no fixed date had been set for the closure of the 66 identified stores, which would continue to trade in the meantime.

“This step has been taken in order to enhance the prospects of securing the business’ future as a going concern,” Nick Edwards, joint administrator at Deloitte, said.

“We continue to receive strong support from staff and are extremely grateful to them for their commitment during an understandably difficult period. All other key stakeholders remain very supportive and I continue to be hopeful of securing a future for the restructured business.”