Government is to turn down work permit applications for jobs that can be filled from a pool of more than 200 staff set to lose their jobs when retailer Trimingham Brothers Ltd. closes its doors at the end of July.

It will also work with displaced staff from offering training initiatives to a dedicated job placement desk being set up for Trimingham?s employees at the Reid Street office of Government?s Training and Employment Services (TES).

Trimingham?s shock announcement on Tuesday that it would close up shop at the end of July after 163 years in business will result in some 220 staff losing their jobs.

The staff number includes employees of both Trimingham?s and next-door rival HA&E Smith?s after the former took over the latter more than a year ago; a move some have since blamed for the store?s demise. Trimingham?s denied that its acquisition of Smith?s had accelerated its going out of business, in a Press statement announcing its closure on Tuesday evening.

At a Press conference yesterday, Labour Minister Randy Horton explained the ?prescribed job areas? where Government plans to cut back on work permits were still being decided, although retail sales positions already fall into a category closed to expatriate workers.

He added that work permits would not be processed in areas where there was ?an absence of consideration of the availability of appropriately qualified and experienced Trimingham?s staff?.

Government will foot the bill for the training programmes and placement services as it works to help the more than 200 staff due to lose their jobs, ?the overwhelming majority? of which were said to be Bermudians.

Both Finance Minister Paula Cox and Mr. Horton said separately that they were aware of Trimingham?s plan to close before the decision was made public this week. ?Certainly before the announcement was made, we were made aware so we could start to put in place strategies and think about finding opportunities for their workers,? Mr. Horton said.

And speaking in the House of Assembly yesterday morning, Ms Cox said Government had been made aware of plans by both Trimingham?s and the Bank of Bermuda, as it is buying the landmark Front Street property that has been Trimingham?s.

Ms Cox said: ?The news of this event was greeted with shock as Trimingham Brothers closure represents the passing of an era. Trimingham?s has been a long-standing fixture of the Bermuda retail landscape. Up to now it has become synonymous with Front Street. We know and note that the decision taken by its directors and shareholders could not have been an easy one.?

Although saying Government was notified by the store?s legal advisers of plans to close, Ms Cox said the information had been shared in confidence.

She added: ?Similarly the Ministry was also advised by the Bank of Bermuda HSBC Group that a closure of Trimingham?s was imminent.? Ms Cox said Government honoured the request to maintain confidentiality to enable the parties to proceed with ?an orderly wind-up?.

Mr. Horton said this was not the first time Government had helped place Bermudians put out of work by a business closure, pointing to a similar initiative to help Wyndham (formerly Sonesta) hotel staff put out of jobs when the hotel closed for repairs resulting from damage in Hurricane Fabian.

But whether the Island?s retail industry ? which has already seen a significant contraction ? can absorb Trimingham?s out of work staff into its ranks was yesterday in doubt.

Mr. Horton said Government recognised that in the Trimingham?s case many of the workers will have skills limited to the retail area.

?We certainly see the need for providing opportunities for retraining,? he said.

Although Bermuda added 573 jobs in 2004, according to figures in Government?s 2005/2006 Economic Review, the retail trade and repair services sector was not one of the areas to post growth.

In total, that sector lost 83, or 2.3 percent, of its jobs last year with the total employment level falling from 3,592 jobs to 3,508 jobs.

An industry veteran told The Royal Gazette that last year?s decline followed years of contraction in the sector, with the industry having once supported an estimated 5,000 workers.

Meanwhile, Mr. Horton said the Labour Department struck a liaison with Trimingham?s Human Resources Department in the days before the announcement. He said Employment Officers would continue working with the store?s HR team as they conduct a ?thorough assessment of the closure?.

Although expressing concern for the staff who will lose their jobs, Ms Cox said she was ?pleased? that Trimingham?s ?as a responsible employer, has committed to treating their employees in accordance with the severance provisions of the Employment Act?.

Ms Cox concluded: ?We live in ever-changing and challenging times and even though in our heads, we know that businesses may come and go, in our hearts, we find it is sobering to bid farewell to such a long-standing player in our retail sector. Certainly we wish the company, its owners, managers and employees all the best with reference to any future plans.?