Ailing electrical retailer Dick Smith is cutting as many as 181 jobs with the permanent closure of its concessions in David Jones department stores.
Ferrier Hodgson will shut the doors on Dick Smith's 27 Australian concessions next week as it seeks a buyer for the retailer, which went into receivership this month with debts of about $400 million.
It called the closure a "necessary step" toward restructuring, but one that could put as many as 181 full-time, part-time and temporary employees out of work by close of business on Wednesday.
"Dick Smith is working to identify opportunities for future employment for as many of the affected staff as possible through the Dick Smith network," Ferrier Hodgson said in a statement on Friday.
Twelve of the concessions are in NSW, six in Victoria, five in Queensland, three in South Australia and one in Western Australia.
Of the employees affected, 78 of them are part-time and 101 casual. Only two are full-time employees.
Ferrier Hodgson said Dick Smith and David Jones had mutually agreed to the terms of the termination of a partnership that only began in 2013.
DJs is offering re-employment to around 22 people who previously worked for the department store, while those who are left unemployed won't know what they are entitled to until later in the sale process.
Administrator McGrathNicol told last week's creditors meeting it has estimated employee liabilities of about $15 million, which includes long-service leave and accrued holiday pay but not any potential redundancy payments.
McGrathNicol's Joe Hayes said Dick Smith's 3,300 or so employees would be covered by the federal government's Fair Entitlements Guarantee Scheme if they were left short.
The administrators confirmed on Thursday that they will file a court application next week seeking more time to investigate Dick Smith's downfall, giving them until August 2 to convene a second creditors meeting.
Customers who had bought gift cards or placed deposits on goods are on a lengthy list of unsecured creditors owed $250 million, with secured creditors owed another $140 million.
