Staff fear for jobs as Chevrolet dealership shuts up shop in city

5:01pm Tuesday 29th April 2008

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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.