The redundancies will be made at the retailer’s head office in Marylebone, London and its satellite in Castleton, Rochdale, which together employ about 900 people. The redundancies include commercial and marketing roles. Consultations have begun with affected staff, who were informed on Wednesday.
Woolworths chief executive Trevor Bish-Jones said changes to reporting structures and the need to move fast had prompted the decision.
“This is not a wholesale redundancy programme,” said Bish-Jones. “It’s more about de-layering, efficiency and speed of delivery. It continues to build on the momentum we’ve got in retail and the ultimate consequence is that we’ll be more customer-focused.”
The cuts are the latest in a series of cost-control and improvement initiatives at the retailer, which expects its retail division to return to profit this financial year.
Last month, Woolworths completed a£385 million refinancing, the structure of which prompted speculation that a reshaping of the group – which also controls EUK and 2entertain – was on the cards. Bish-Jones declined to comment on the likelihood of that happening.
Department store Liberty has downplayed speculation that it will make redundancies after beginning consultation with back office and shopfloor staff.
Chief executive Geoffroy de La Bourdonnaye said no decision had been made about cutting jobs. “Since I arrived in July we have made lots of changes to adapt to market conditions and develop the business,” he said.
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