Bunnings has confirmed it will close seven locations by the end of June.

The Ashburton Warehouse, four smaller format stores Cambridge, Rangiora, Te Awamutu, and Putaruru and two trade centres Hornby and Hastings will permanently close.

Bunnings New Zealand Director, Jacqui Coombes says “this was an incredibly difficult decision and like many New Zealand businesses in the current conditions, we needed to make a decision for the long-term performance of our business and our team of close to 4,500 people.”

“Our absolute focus and priority now is the welfare of the 145 team members who are affected and we will work closely with them through this process.”

“Where practical, impacted team members will be redeployed to other locations. Alternatively, team members will receive a redundancy that reflects their years of service to their local communities and customers.”

Jacqui Coombes says “Bunnings will also offer access to career support and advice as well as counselling services during this period. The decision to close these stores has been driven by challenges of the recent trading environment and other factors including lease arrangements, individual store performance and suitability of location, with some of the stores always intended as temporary locations. “

It is anticipated that the stores will close by the end of June.

Team members will be employed at the store for a further four weeks to assist with packing down the store.

Bunnings will continue to actively manage its portfolio in both the Australian and New Zealand markets which and new store developments at Westgate and Queenstown are proceeding as planned.