Bakery when they learned they had no job to return to after Christmas.

Owner of the bakery and former MP Mr. Anthony Correia handed his 13 staff the pink slip on the eve of the Christmas break.

The Smith's Parish bakery will close on December 30 and be put up for sale, Mr. Correia told The Royal Gazette yesterday.

He would not give reasons for the closure.

Staff yesterday complained of the short notice they were given.

The bakery's manager said he had not even known about the closure until he opened his pay cheque.

Two counter assistants were particularly upset because they were relying on the job to help pay their college tuition fees next year.

There were also several non-Bermudian employees who face having to return to their countries and many employees with families to support.

The Royal Gazette understands the bakery and tea room suffered staff/service problems as well as financial problems. It has had four managers since it opened in 1990.

"All employees were given one week's notice that their employment was terminating on December 30 and the property was going up for sale,'' Mr.

Correia said. "That's all the comment I have.'' The decision was made, he said, by the bakery's Board of Directors who include himself, Mr. Dennis Chin and Mr. Tyrone Chin and UBP MP Dr. David Dyer.

Mr. Correia said the dozens of restaurants -- Portofino, Botanical Gardens, Waterside Inn -- which buy their baked goods and breads from the bakery were told it was closing. It is understood the bakery stopped selling to supermarkets in August due to insufficient demand. But a staff member claimed a number of people had called wondering about New Year's and other cakes and goods they had ordered for the holiday period. Counter assistant Miss Katrina Dillas said she and colleague Lisa were counting on the job to pay their college fees next year.

"We've only got tomorrow and next Wednesday and Thursday to work -- then we're out of a job,'' she said. "It was all of a sudden.'' She said the employees had all taken the news badly.

Mr. Correia delivered the news by way of a note with their pay cheques yesterday afternoon.

He also said he would meet with them in the afternoon, she said.

"It hits me badly,'' the bakery's Indian manager Mr. Ashok Uppl said.

He said he immediately called Mr. Correia upon getting his notice to find out the reasons.

Staff were given only one week's extra pay, he said.

Mr. Uppl said he would try and find another job here or return home.

"It's real sad,'' he said. "They are upset from the inside -- I can tell on their faces.'' Miss Dillas said she was not aware of any financial problems at the bakery, saying it was "always busy'', especially duirng the summer.