Dixons Carphone reaches agreement to save jobs of 800 Phones 4u staff

A deal has been reached with Phones 4U’s administrator PwC that will allow Dixons Carphone to offer jobs to the employees, who work in concessions in its stores.

All Phones 4u stores were shuttered on Monday following its administration, which left the jobs of 5,596 staff in the balance.

The 160 Phones 4u concessions were introduced into Dixons’ Currys and PC World stores before it merged with Phones 4u rival Carphone Warehouse.

The staff will continue to work at the concessions, which will be rebranded to Carphone Warehouse.

It is understood Dixons Carphone reached the agreement after PwC agreed to waive a clause that prevented it from poaching Phones 4u staff.

Phones 4u plunged into administration after network operator EE pulled the plug on its contract with the mobile phones retailer, following a similar decision by Vodafone earlier in the month.

Dixons Carphone is also hiring a further 1,500 staff following its merger and is encouraging Phones 4u staff to apply for positions through its website.

Vodafone and EE are considering acquiring a handful of Phones 4u stores and it is expected EE would also hire the staff of any stores it does take on.

The retailer said the decisions by Vodafone and EE to end their relationship were unexpected and came as a “complete shock” to the business.

Phones 4u said: “The company is in a healthy state and both EE and Vodafone had, until very recently, consistently indicated that they saw Phones 4u as a long-term strategic partner.”

The retailer, which is responsible for more than one in every five new phone connections in the UK, has a turnover of over £1bn, EBITDA of £105m in 2013 and significant cash in the bank.