Troubled maternity retailer Mothercare has put 158 members of head office staff into consultation as part of a review to simplify central functions and cut costs, Retail Week has learned.
98 members of it UK head office and 60 of its overseas workforce have been put into consultation today. Mothercare employs 1,000 staff across its global head office functions.
The consultation process will take 30 days, and store staff remain unaffected.
It is hoped the number of redundancies will be smaller than the 158 put into consultation, as the retailer aims to redeploy some staff into different positions in the group, a source close to the situation said.
Staff in functions including IT, HR and finance are affected.
The retailer has been struggling in recent months. Former chief executive Ben Gordon was ousted last November following a series of profit warnings. He was replaced by Lovefilm International boss Simon Calver.
It is also closing stores amid the tough conditions, with plans to shutter 110 out of its 373 shops.
A Mothercare spokeswoman said: “As part of the ongoing structural review process, Mothercare has reviewed its head office functions and identified opportunities to simplify the structure and decrease the central cost base.
“Following an internal announcement to staff, some of our head office staff will be entering a consultation process that will last 30 days.
“We will be working closely with affected employees to support them through this process.
“This announcement does not affect store staff.”
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