Jobs on the line as Westfield work starts

Hamish Heard
MORE than 100 jobs are on the line in central Geelong after Westfield Bay City ordered several retailers to pack up and move on to make way for the centre’s $150 million redevelopment.
Several retailers told the Independent they’d been given their marching orders, with some being offered temporary space until the development is completed in April next year.
The centre’s Coles supermarket is the biggest business affected by the move. It employs nearly 130 people and will close for a year on April 23.
A company spokesperson said staff were informed of the store’s closure.
“Our aim is to redeploy all team members locally to a Coles or another Coles Group store for the duration of the closure and refurbishment works,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said Coles would return when the development was completed.
Bay City Fisheries owner Jimmy Argyros was upset when Westfield told him he would have to move his shop.
“When you’ve got another year and a half to go on your lease and all of a sudden, bang, you’re told you have to leave, it upsets you,” Mr Argyros.
He said Westfield had offered him a temporary location within the centre but he could not move his business to a short-term site, leaving four of his employees jobless.
“It’s easier for some businesses to temporarily relocate, like the newsagent next door, but for us it’s just too hard to move the fridge and everything else and set up in another spot,” he said.
Bon Appetite owner Richard Moodie said 15 of his staff would lose their jobs as a result of the redevelopment, which has forced him to vacate his premises with years remaining on his lease.
After a tenancy spanning nearly 12 years, Mr Moodie was considering not returning to the redeveloped centre.
Westfield Bay City centre manager Annette Cotter confirmed the company had informed several tenants they would have to either close or relocate until the redevelopment was completed in April next year.
However, Ms Cotter said the project would generate hundreds of new jobs both during the construction phase and after its completion.
The project includes a pedestrian bridge across Yarra Street.
“At the completion of the project we will provide a substantial number of retail career opportunities with the addition of 70 new stores,” Ms Cotter.