Sainsbury's is closing its Stockport town centre supermarket early next year.
The news comes a year after the retail giant announced plans to close up to 15 existing supermarkets and open ten new ones over the next five years.
It says staff at the Warren Street store have been informed about the closure, but it has not confirmed how many jobs are at risk of redundancy.
A spokesperson added that the firm was doing 'everything it can' to redeploy staff members elsewhere.
An online petition has been launched, calling on the brand to rethink its decision and keep the supermarket open.
The petition reads: "Workers at Stockport's town centre Sainsbury's store are facing redundancy at the turn of the New Year 2021 because of Sainsbury PLC's decision to close the store.
"The workers at this store were amongst those key workers who risked their health and their lives during the Covid-19 pandemic by working throughout in order to ensure that all of us continued to be able to obtain our food and other essential supplies."
The petition says the decision is 'a slap in the face' for workers 'when they should instead be receiving a reward for our gratitude'.
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It adds: "The people of Stockport, and especially the residents of our town centre will lose a much valued store and a depletion of choice in buying their goods".
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “We have updated colleagues on the difficult decision to close our Stockport store and we are doing everything we can to find alternative roles within Sainsbury’s for those affected.
"Customers can continue to shop with us at a number of nearby stores. For example, our Stockport Station Grand Central Square and Hazel Grove stores are a short drive away.”
The brand says no other plans to close other Greater Manchester stores have been announced.
As well as the plan to close 15 supermarkets across the country, last Autumn Sainsbury's said it also intended to close 40 convenience stores, and move a number of Argos stores into Sainsbury's branches.
