Department store Debenhams has said it is planning to place its Irish operations into liquidation. It said the majority of its Irish stores are not expected to reopen after the Covid-19 crisis is over.
The company employs up to 2,000 people here, both directly, and indirectly through in-store concessions, according to the Mandate union.
The company temporarily closed all 11 of its stores in Ireland last month as a result of the Covid-19 restrictions. In a statement, it said it was having to make some really tough decisions and the Republic of Ireland's retail operations had trading challenges which were exacerbated by the impact of Covid-19. "Debenhams has already suspended trading in the Republic of Ireland stores, the majority of