Yahoo Finance Debenhams ready to cut 2,500 jobs in new blow to high street
Debenhams is to cut a further 2,500 jobs in its department stores and warehouses in the latest blow to hit the high street.
The beleaguered retailer, which currently employs 14,500 people, is reducing the number of shop assistants in its stores as trading remains slow despite the reopening of 124 of its stores after lockdown.
It is understood to be scrapping the roles of sales manager, visual merchandise manager and selling support manager as part of the restructure as well as some distribution centre roles.
M&Co – 400 jobs
5 August: M&Co., the Renfrewshire-based clothing retailer, formerly known as Mackays, will close 47 of 215 stores.
WH Smith – 1,500 jobs
5 August: The chain, which sells products ranging from sandwiches to stationery, will cut jobs mainly in UK railway stations and airports.
Pizza Express – 1,100 jobs
4 August: The restaurant chain plans the closure of 70 restaurants as part of a rescue restructure deal.
Dixons Carphone – 800 jobs
4 August: Electronics retailer Dixons Carphone is cutting 800 managers in its stores as it continues to reduce costs.
DW Sports – 1,700 jobs at risk
3 August: DW Sports fell into administration, closing its retail website immediately and risking the closure of its 150 gyms and shops.
Marks & Spencer – 950 jobs
20 July: The high street stalwart cuts management jobs in stores as well as head office roles related to property and store operations.
Ted Baker – 500 jobs
19 July: About 200 roles to go at the fashion retailer’s London headquarters, the Ugly Brown Building, and the remainder at stores.
Azzurri – 1,200 jobs
17 July: The owner of the Ask Italian and Zizzi pizza chains closes 75 restaurants and makes its Pod lunch business delivery only
Burberry – 500 jobs worldwide
15 July: Total includes 150 posts in UK head offices as luxury brand tries to slash costs by £55m after a slump in sales during the pandemic.
Boots – 4,000 jobs
9 July: Boots is cutting 4,000 jobs – or 7% of its workforce – by closing 48 opticians outlets and reducing staff at its head office in Nottingham as well as some management and customer service roles in stores.
John Lewis – 1,300 jobs
9 July: John Lewis announced that it is planning to permanently close eight of its 50 stores, including full department stores in Birmingham and Watford, with the likely loss of 1,300 jobs.
Celtic Manor – 450 jobs
9 July: Bosses at the Celtic Collection in Newport, which staged golf's Ryder Cup in 2010 and the 2014 Nato Conference, said 450 of its 995 workers will lose their jobs.
Pret a Manger – 1,000 jobs
6 July: Pret a Manger is to permanently close 30 branches and could cut at least 1,000 jobs after suffering “significant operating losses” as a result of the Covid-19 lockdown
Casual Dining Group – 1,900 jobs
2 July: The owner of the Bella Italia, Café Rouge and Las Iguanas restaurant chains collapsed into administration, with the immediate loss of 1,900 jobs. The company said multiple offers were on the table for parts of the business but buyers did not want to acquire all the existing sites and 91 of its 250 outlets would remain permanently closed.
Arcadia – 500 jobs
1 July: Arcadia, Sir Philip Green’s troubled fashion group – which owns Topshop, Miss Selfridge, Dorothy Perkins, Burton, Evans and Wallis – said in July 500 head office jobs out of 2,500 would go in the coming weeks.
SSP Group – 5,000 jobs
1 July: The owner of Upper Crust and Caffè Ritazza is to axe 5,000 jobs, about half of its workforce, with cuts at its head office and across its UK operations after the pandemic stalled domestic and international travel.
Harrods – 700 jobs
1 July: The department store group is cutting one in seven of its 4,800 employees because of the “ongoing impacts” of the pandemic.
Harveys – 240 jobs
30 June: Administrators made 240 redundancies at the furniture chain Harveys, with more than 1,300 jobs at risk if a buyer cannot be found.
TM Lewin – 600 jobs
30 June: Shirtmaker TM Lewin closed all 66 of its outlets permanently, with the loss of about 600 jobs.
Monsoon Accessorize – 545 jobs
11 June: The fashion brands were bought out of administration by their founder, Peter Simon, in June, in a deal in which 35 stores closed permanently and 545 jobs were lost.
Mulberry – 470 jobs
8 June: The luxury fashion and accessories brand is to cut 25% of its global workforce and has started a consultation with the 470 staff at risk.
The Restaurant Group – 3,000 jobs
3 June: The owner of dining chains such as Wagamama and Frankie & Benny’s has closed most branches of Chiquito and all 11 of its Food & Fuel pubs, with another 120 restaurants to close permanently. Total job losses could reach 3,000.
Clarks – 900 jobs
21 May: Clarks plans to cut 900 office jobs worldwide as it grapples with the growth of online shoe shopping as well as the pandemic.
Oasis and Warehouse – 1,800 jobs
30 April: The fashion brands were bought out of administration by the restructuring firm Hilco in April, with all of their stores permanently closed and 1,800 jobs lost.
Cath Kidston – 900 jobs
21 April: More than 900 jobs were cut immediately at the retro retail label Cath Kidston after the company said it was permanently closing all 60 of its UK stores.
Debenhams – 4,000 jobs
9 April: At least 4,000 jobs will be lost at Debenhams in its head office and closed stores after its collapse into administration in April, for the second time in a year.
Laura Ashley – 2,700 jobs
17 March: Laura Ashley collapsed into administration, with 2,700 job losses, and said rescue talks had been thwarted by the pandemic.
The 242-year-old retailer said the reopened stores were trading ahead of management expectations but it still needed to cut costs. “The trading environment is clearly a long way from returning to normal and we have to ensure our store costs are aligned with realistic expectations,” Debenhams said in a statement.
It said staff affected by redundancy had been informed.
“Such difficult decisions are being taken by many retailers right now, and we will continue to take all necessary steps to give Debenhams every chance of a viable future,” a spokesman said.
High street businesses have been closing outlets and slashing job numbers as trade remains slow despite the end of lockdown.
Last week the books-to-sandwiches store WH Smith said it was cutting 1,500 jobs while fashion chain M&Co shut 47 of its 262 stores with the loss of just under 400 jobs. That came in a bruising week during in which travel agent Hays and the retailer DW Sports announced major job losses on Monday, followed by Pizza Express and the electronics retailer Dixons Carphone on Tuesday.
Department stores have been hit particularly hard by changing shopping habits as well as the coronavirus crisis. John Lewis and House of Fraser are both closing stores while Beales collapsed into administration.
The latest round of redundancies at Debenhams comes on top of 4,000 job cuts the group has made since it went into administration in April for the second time in a year.
Hundreds more jobs were lost in December and January when the group closed more than 20 stores. The group has shut more than 40 stores in the past year.
Last month, Debenhams put itself up for sale in a last-ditch attempt to prevent a fall into liquidation.
Investment bank Lazard has been appointed to oversee the sale process and hopes to secure a buyer before the end of September.
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group, which owns Sports Direct and House of Fraser, is thought to be interested in buying up a parcel of 30 stores. Ashley sought to win control of Debenhams last year but lost out to a consortium of the group’s lenders.
The restructuring firm FRP Advisory is working alongside its management under a “light touch” administration.
