Staff fear for jobs as Chevrolet dealership shuts up shop in city
 |
| CLOSED: The Denkale dealership in Portswood. |
STAFF at Chevrolet's flagship Southampton dealership are fearing for their jobs after the top-performing franchise was terminated due to "financial irregularities".
Up to 20 staff could face redundancy after the Denkale dealership in Portswood shut up shop over the weekend. Shocked staff were yesterday clearing their desks after work ceased.
The British arm of US car giant General Motors, which owns Chevrolet, claimed businesses were queuing up for a chance to get their hands on the franchise for the Southampton area.
And they pledged customers will be looked after until a successor to the Denkale dealership can be finalised.
Spokesman Dennis Chick said Southampton-based Denkale had its franchises for Southampton, Reading and Slough terminated on Friday and the brand signs taken down on Saturday.
Mr Chick attributed the terminations to "financial irregularities that we had been investigating for some time".
He said he could comment no further on Denkale due to the legal situation.
Denkale's managers were not available for comment.
But Mr Chick said Mahinda Gill's operation at Southamp-ton was "one of the best-performing in the country - in the top ten of our 100 dealerships".
He added there were people "champing at the bit" for the franchise and he expected to have a new one in place soon.
"Chevrolet is on a high and the Southampton area is very significant to us," he said.
Denkale Southampton was the first Chevrolet dealer to open in the south.
It has been operating from its site in St Deny's Road for 15 years. It was followed by the Reading dealership which opened in March 2005 then another in Slough.
Those who have ordered a new car or were in negotiations for new or used cars should call 0800 060606.
5:01pm Tuesday 29th April 2008
Print 
Email this 
CommentPosted by: Keith Oftergrass on 6:05pm Tue 29 Apr 08
.....well at least there won't be such a problem parking in Belmont Road during the day. Every cloud as they say.
.....well at least there won't be such a problem parking in Belmont Road during the day. Every cloud as they say.
Posted by: Hugh Carres on 6:07pm Tue 29 Apr 08
Yes Keith, but have you thought about how many flats they could put up on the site ?
Should be a few hundred I guess, handy for the new Sainsburys around the corner.
Yes Keith, but have you thought about how many flats they could put up on the site ?
Should be a few hundred I guess, handy for the new Sainsburys around the corner.
Posted by: Chav free zone, Swaythling on 6:41pm Tue 29 Apr 08
You want flats wait and see what the idiot council are putting up in swaythling in Parkville Road.
You want flats wait and see what the idiot council are putting up in swaythling in Parkville Road.
Posted by: Fred on 7:05pm Tue 29 Apr 08
"top-performing franchise was terminated due to "financial irregularities"".
Top performing because those irregular numbers said so.
"top-performing franchise was terminated due to "financial irregularities"".
Top performing because those irregular numbers said so.
Posted by: Family Man, thorns on 9:59am Wed 30 Apr 08
It is not a question of whether the site will be redeveloped for flats, but how many and whether it will be for students..not that I have anything against students per se.
And despite the inevitable criticism and protests from local residents, the council will simply railroad it through. There might be "sweeteners", like "a dramatic improvement in local health facilities", or not, it might even be a "landmark" development, but it will essentially be a block of flats. And there ain't nothing any of us can do about it...there are simply too many precedents (of its own making) for the council to draw a line, even if it wanted to...!!!!
Southampton, flat city of the south!
It is not a question of whether the site will be redeveloped for flats, but how many and whether it will be for students..not that I have anything against students per se.
And despite the inevitable criticism and protests from local residents, the council will simply railroad it through. There might be "sweeteners", like "a dramatic improvement in local health facilities", or not, it might even be a "landmark" development, but it will essentially be a block of flats. And there ain't nothing any of us can do about it...there are simply too many precedents (of its own making) for the council to draw a line, even if it wanted to...!!!!
Southampton, flat city of the south!
Posted by: Leanne, Sholing on 3:11pm Wed 30 Apr 08
Who cares about flats and parking, I care that staff at the site who had nothing to do with the financial issues did not get paid this month and now have to look for jobs in a very difficult financial climate!!
Who cares about flats and parking, I care that staff at the site who had nothing to do with the financial issues did not get paid this month and now have to look for jobs in a very difficult financial climate!!
Posted by: Leanne, Sholing on 3:11pm Wed 30 Apr 08
Who cares about flats and parking, I care that staff at the site who had nothing to do with the financial issues did not get paid this month and now have to look for jobs in a very difficult financial climate!!
Who cares about flats and parking, I care that staff at the site who had nothing to do with the financial issues did not get paid this month and now have to look for jobs in a very difficult financial climate!!
Posted by: Adrian Smith on 5:51pm Wed 30 Apr 08
Glad to see the earlier filth has been removed. But it was online for nearly 18 hours.
Hopefully the Echo site will get added to the 18+ list now.
Glad to see the earlier filth has been removed. But it was online for nearly 18 hours.
Hopefully the Echo site will get added to the 18+ list now.
Posted by: Irate customer, Reading on 8:42pm Thu 1 May 08
Whilst I have every sympathy for the innocent staff. What about the customers that they have taken money off of in the last few weeks and promised them delivery of vehicles on several ocassions that they knew wouldn't turn up!!! We now have to wait for Chevrolet to sort it out with the administrators, Right this minute I'd take great delight in driving a bulldoser through Denkale. They are even still running ads on the local radio station in Reading,
Whilst I have every sympathy for the innocent staff. What about the customers that they have taken money off of in the last few weeks and promised them delivery of vehicles on several ocassions that they knew wouldn't turn up!!! We now have to wait for Chevrolet to sort it out with the administrators, Right this minute I'd take great delight in driving a bulldoser through Denkale. They are even still running ads on the local radio station in Reading,
Posted by: peter grist, Southampton on 6:26pm Fri 9 May 08
Shame the reporter that broke this story and wrote the article (Peter Grist) never got credit for it. Is this typical of the Echo?
Shame the reporter that broke this story and wrote the article (Peter Grist) never got credit for it. Is this typical of the Echo?
What are these links for?
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
More on Digg
More on del.icio.us
More on Furl
More on reddit
More on NowPublic/
More on Yahoo!
