Ecommerce technology company THG and department store John Lewis and Partners are both entering consultations with their employees as they look to cut numbers in turnaround plans.
There are reports that 11,000 jobs could go at John Lewis over the next five years. While, 688 THG employees will be placed at risk, with around 100 employees being made redundant intially.
THG cuts will be focused around its ecommerce services platform Ingenuity and at its Warrington warehouse after automation roll outs. John Lewis redundancies could come from its head office, supermarkets and department stores.
Both retail groups have explained that job cuts are part of wider efficiency plans, with the introduction of technology and cost saving measures also recommended.
A TGH spokesman said it was “committed to reviewing operational efficiency across the business, in line with its strategic pivot towards larger enterprise clients”.
Whereas a John Lewis source told The Guardian that executives had discussed cutting roles as part of its latest turnaround plan, this is amid rising pay and other costs as well as poor sales. There had been additional reports that John Lewis is reducing the terms of its redundancy package by half – offering one week of pay per year of service, instead of two, for anyone being made redundant from 01 February.
The retailer told staff it was making the change as the current package was “higher than typical market practice and comes at a very high cost”. It said it needed to “free up cash” with a “more affordable” policy.
An internal memo, issued on Thursday 25 January seen by The Telegraph, stated: “Against all of our competing priorities for investment, it’s fair to say that the high cost of redundancy pay has been one of the things that’s prevented us from moving as quickly as we’ve wanted to transform ourselves for the future, and has restricted our ability to invest more in pay.”
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