Staff at Rakuten’s Play.com have entered a period of consultation as the marketplace revealed that 71 jobs are on the line.
The restructuring and likely job losses, which Retail-Week.com revealed earlier this month, has been instigated by Japanese giant Rakuten’s plans to operate as a single global platform across its multiple marketplaces across the world.
The consultation will last a minimum of 30 days.
A company spokeswoman said that the changes would impact “a number of areas of the business”.
Rakuten, which operates shopping sites in the US, France, Brazil and Germany, bought Play.com in 2011. It revealed last year that Play.com was pulling out of direct retail to focus on its marketplace business.
A raft of management changes have also been made at the Rakuten’s Play.com. Chief financial officer Mike Bishop has become managing director of the marketplace, replacing Shingo Murakami who is taking on a role supporting the strategic development of Rakuten’s European marketplace.
Meanwhile chief information officer Francesco De Marchis, who has been at the business three years, has left the business along with chief operating officer David Rimmer, who exited Play.com after seven years to join MusicMagpie.com.
Patrick Kelly, who was ecommerce category director, has been promoted to commercial director and will take responsibility for the sales, merchant services and ecommerce teams.
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