The filling station at Waitrose in Helensburgh has closed down earlier than expected.
And the supermarket chain has confirmed that 101 people will lose their jobs when the supermarket itself closes its doors on Sunday.
A spokesperson said the filling station was always due to close at the end of trade today to ensure it went below the required safe level of fuel in the tanks before Sunday.
“As that has been reached already, we have closed the petrol station this morning so slightly earlier than anticipated,” he added.
“We are sorry for any inconvenience this caused for local people.”
Only 22 of the 123 ‘partners’ who work in Helensburgh will be redeployed to the chain’s other Scottish shops.
Waitrose announced the closure in March, together with two stores in England – there was a furious reaction from local politicians when it emerged that Helensburgh’s was the only store not to have its closure postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
There is still no confirmation of when Morrisons will take over the premises.
Helensburgh branch manager Kevin Sharkey today thanked staff and customers.
“We are so grateful for the kindness and support that has been shown by many of our customers and local businesses for our Helensburgh partners,” he said.
“It underlines how much we will miss being part of the community here and how sorry we are that we are unable to postpone the closure during what are very challenging times for everyone.
“When we first opened our doors seven years ago our ambition was to be here for a very long time.
“But despite the investment we made, and the incredible efforts of our team working here, the shop is just not sustainable for us.
“It’s therefore with great sadness and disappointment that we will close our doors for the final time this weekend, which just leaves me to say a huge thank you on behalf of my team to our customers for their loyalty, custom and understanding.”
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