THERE is shock today at the news that Austins Derry has gone bust.
Staff at the store in the Diamond have been told they’ve lost their jobs after the company went in to liquidation.
They were called to a meeting this morning and told the store will not be opening again.
The devastated workers have been told to return to the store on Friday when they can pick up their P45s.
The shutters to the store did not open this morning and they now remain shut.
It is a major blow to the economic heart of Derry that such a prominent store has shut its doors.
The company has been in business in Derry since 1830.
Just over 16 months ago the City Hotel Group greed to buy the Austins department store building and 55 jobs were saved.
Brendan Duddy jnr of the City Hotel Group said at the time in November 2014 that there was no short or long-term plans to turn the building into a hotel.
Mr Duddy said he group had agreed to purchase the Austins building, name and brand and that a “new business setup” would be controlled by previous owners, the Hasson family.
Austins, one of the oldest independent stores in the world, had been placed into administrative receivership in November 2014.
The business began in 1830 when Thomas Austin came to Derry and opened as a drapery shop.
The Hasson family, from Derry, had owned the landmark store for over 35 years.
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