UK Retailer John Lewis To Eliminate Hundreds Of Positions

The John Lewis Partnership, as well as the Lloyds Banking Group, have unveiled intentions to eliminate hundreds of positions, according to the BBC.

John Lewis indicates that it will cut as many as 1,500 positions at its head office as it takes additional measures to reduce costs, the BBC reported, noting that John Lewis also operates the Waitrose grocery stores.

The potential John Lewis reductions will take place at two offices in London Victoria and Bracknell, where approximately 5,000 individuals work for the company.

The company said it would aim to locate new positions for the workers when possible. Otherwise, it will provide redundancy support and retraining resources for workers with over two years of service.

John Lewis Partnership Chairman Sharon White has put forward a five-year recovery roadmap for the firm, which has been impacted by the coronavirus crisis.

In addition, Lloyds is reducing its headcount by another 730 positions as part of a significant restructuring effort. Workers in the group transformation and retail banking workforces will be primarily impacted by the reductions, which will reportedly bring about no additional bank closings.

Over the summer, news surfaced that John Lewis was set to close a number of locations, while Harrods cut 700 jobs as department stores took a hit from COVID-19. White said at the time that the merchant would likely get rid of the annual bonus for employees and would shutter an office in London.

“The difficult reality is that we have too much store space for the way people want to shop now. As difficult as it is, we now know that it is highly unlikely that we will reopen all of our John Lewis stores. Regrettably, it is likely that there will implications for some jobs,” White previously said in a letter, per a published report.