Exclusive: Asos to axe 100 jobs as new boss Ramos Calamonte cuts costs

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Asos is planning to axe more than 100 jobs as part of new boss José Antonio Ramos Calamonte’s cost-cutting drive, Retail Week can reveal.

The embattled fashion etailer, which currently has a headcount of 3,300, is scrapping roles across all departments, the majority of which are based at its London headquarters.

Asos has today launched a consultation period with impacted staff, which will last for 45 days.

The retailer said that voluntary redundancies will not be offered, as it hopes to redeploy employees where possible.

The move comes just weeks after Asos slumped to a pre-tax loss of £31.9m in the year to August 31, down from a profit of £177.1m the year before.

Asos chief executive Ramos Calamonte, who took the reins in June, unveiled a 12-month turnaround plan alongside those results, which included a drive aimed at “simplifying and reducing its cost profile”.

Although Ramos Calamonte did not mention any potential job losses at the time, he admitted that Asos’ operating model had “become inefficient” and said it needed to take action to “improve order economics and ensure a sustainable level of profitability in all markets”.

He warned that the etailer would place “a clear focus on optimising our cost base, improving supply chain efficiencies and eliminating excess costs through increased controls”.

Asos’ woes have been reflected across the ecommerce fashion sector as former pandemic winners have been hit by supply chain issues, rising costs, higher returns rates and the impacts of the cost-of-living crisis on customer spending habits.

Fellow fast-fashion etailer Missguided was rescued by Frasers Group after it fell into administration this summer, while Boohoo and In The Style have also registered losses.

A spokesperson for Asos said: “Simplifying and reducing our cost profile is a core part of Asos’ change agenda that was outlined at full-year results.

“As part of this, we have taken the tough but necessary step to outline proposals to reduce the number of roles across the business. We will work closely with those potentially affected to support them through the consultation process and will seek to redeploy colleagues wherever possible.”