Mission residents have taken to social media to condemn the announcement that the local Safeway store is one of 10 locations to be shut down later in the year.
The decision to close 10 B.C. stores was announced on Tuesday and reaction was swift.
Shirley Lundy wrote “I will really miss a lot of their name brand groceries as well as their bakery products… Not happy to see them shut down.”
Kathleen O’Lane agreed adding that she was “not a happy consumer. Safeway is my store of choice. I continued to shop there irregardless of the big box stores arriving my region. I did so out of loyalty and a concern for exactly this happening. My heart goes out to all the dedicated employees who will be joining the long line of job seekers out there. Very sad.”
More than 22,000 people have seen the Facebook post on the Mission Record site and several are calling for a petition to be started to save the grocery store while others are expressing sympathy for the staff that will be losing their jobs.
“Awe this is sad news. I feel for the employees,” wrote Weyen George.
The Mission store is set to close on May 5.
Sobeys, which purchased Safeway, might turn at least five of the locations into FreshCo. discount stores. Mission is one of the locations being considered for the change, but no decision has yet been made.
The following locations will be closing:
· Safeway Mission;
· Safeway, Lougheed Mall, Burnaby;
· Safeway, City Square, Vancouver;
· Safeway, Sunwood Square, Coquitlam;
· Safeway, Point Grey, Vancouver;
· Safeway, Royal Oak, Burnaby;
· Safeway, Blundell, Richmond;
· Safeway, Broadmoor, Richmond;
· Safeway, Newton Town Center, Surrey;
· Safeway, Strawberry Hills, Surrey.