The employee, who wished to remain anonymous, said the future now looked bleak for all the affected staff.
“We were given two choices, whether to receive compensation or work at the other branches still in operation. But it all depends on whether there are vacancies there too.
“The branch will be closed on Nov 5 but we will still be working until stocks are cleared which might take about a month,” she told FMT, adding that she was still considering what to do after the outlet in the Shah Alam City Centre (SACC) Mall closed.
Meanwhile, part-time worker Mariam also claimed that she was informed about the closure only last week.
She also said the option on whether to receive compensation or transfer to other branches was only offered to permanent employees.
Mariam, who has worked for seven months at the outlet, said she was sad about leaving and was now considering her options following the impending closure.
She added that most of the customers at the Giant outlet at SACC Mall were office folk from around the area, alluding to the possibility that the outlet did not have many customers or enjoy a booming business.
That however, contradicted with what the company informed most of the employees whom FMT spoke to.
“We were told that the outlet is closing because the lease is expiring soon,” an employee told FMT.
Recently, a statement released by GCH Retail (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd said the decision to close the outlets was taken after it had “reviewed its operations and in order to improve efficiencies and productivity”.
It said the affected outlets were in Sri Manjung, Sungai Petani, Shah Alam City Centre (SACC) Mall, Sibu and Selayang Lama.
They will close when the leases expire.
It is however not known what will happen to staff affected by the closures.
Meanwhile, Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Hamzah Zainudin said the closure of the five Giant outlets had nothing to do with the country’s economy.
News of the closure went viral on social media recently, with many people linking it to the state of the country’s economy.
He said the decision to close the outlets was made by the supermarket owner following problems with the leases of these premises coupled by the company’s business strategy to downsize.