GAME Australia lay-offs begin, 60 stores closed

Administrator Pricewaterhouse Coopers has confirmed an initial round of lay-offs at GAME Australia, with 281 staff let go today and 60 stores closed.

264 of the cuts were from outlets, while 17 were made at the company's head office. GAME Australia had employed over 500 staffers.

Despite earlier choosing to keep the business running as normal, Kate Warwick of Pricewaterhouse Coopers said steps had to be taken.

"This is a difficult time for employees and closing the stores was not a decision we made easily. However it is not financially viable to continue to operate at this level at this time," she said.

Warwick added that the accountancy firm has already started work on helping affected former employees apply for redundancy entitlements.

According to MCV Pacific's sources, this is just the first wave of redundancies and closures, with another round expected next week.

Pricewaterhouse Coopers said yesterday that it was entertaining several expressions of interest in the struggling retail chain, which went into voluntary administration last week.