Next boss Wolfson: Thousands of retail jobs ‘unviable’ post-Covid

Wolfson said several shopfloor jobs were likely to be under threat amid the rapid shift to online shopping sparked by the pandemic.

In an interview with the BBC, Wolfson said: “I wouldn’t want to underestimate the difficulty that is going to cause a lot of people who work in retail. I think it’s going to be very uncomfortable for a lot of people.

“We will inevitably, and have already, reduced the number of people working in our shops and I expect that to continue over the coming five or six years as the demand for retail goes down.

“But we are taking on people in our call centres; we are training new recruits in our call centres, in our warehousing. Our distribution networks are taking on new employees.

“So there are new jobs and, in terms of finding where those opportunities are, the internet provides an amazing and powerful tool to connect employers with employees.”

Wolfson’s comments came just hours after chancellor Rishi Sunak lifted the lid on a new job support scheme, which will see the government top up the pay of workers who are unable to work full time.

The amount offered by the government will represent a reduction on the cash it is currently spending under the furlough scheme – it had been paying workers up to 80% of their monthly wage, capped at £2,500.   

Wolfson said only around 10% of Next’s staff remained on furlough and said “we don’t think we need” the new scheme. He warned other sectors “desperately will” need government support but urged businesses to start to live without government handouts. 

“I think it’s important that employers begin to pay a little bit more for the schemes and that employees get a little bit less because otherwise, I think there’s a risk that our economy will just become hooked on it.”