THE GMB union pledged to support members facing redundancy at Wilko’s today after it warned there is “no longer any prospect that the majority of the business will be saved.”

Most stores owned by the stricken homeware retailer, which collapsed into administration earlier this month putting 12,000 positions at risk, are now set to close within weeks after a potential purchase fell through.

Some of the national chain’s 400 shops may be bought, either individually or as part of larger packages, but significant job losses are now inevitable, starting in the coming days, the union said.

National secretary Andy Prendergast said: “GMB will continue to support members through this process and will fight to ensure they are consulted as per the law and that you receive every penny you are entitled to.”

He slammed bosses at the 93-year-old family run firm for “incompetent management.

“We will fight to ensure Wilko bosses are held accountable for the simple reason our members deserve so much better,” he stressed.

“GMB will not forget the incompetence that has led to this collapse and will we not forget the dividends paid to the millionaires who gambled your jobs on their whims.”

Labour’s shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds blasted the “devastating news.

“This will likely see stores close across the country. 

“Their loss will have a massive impact on their high streets and my thoughts are with those Wilko staff and their families facing this dreadful news.

“Sadly, shuttered up shops and struggling high streets has become the norm after 13 years of Conservative economic failure.”