John Lewis cuts staff bonuses after reporting 9% profit drop

John Lewis has slashed staff bonuses by 4%, sending them to their lowest level in 12 years after reporting a 9% profit drop.

The company’s 93,800 staff members will now receive the equivalent of six weeks’ pay. Partners in the group will share a reduced bonus pool of £156.2m for this financial year, according to The Guardian.

Staff received just 10% of their salary back in 2003, the last time the company reported such a significant bonus cull. By comparison, staff were given a bonus worth 15% of their salary in 2014.

As reasoning for the bonus reduction, John Lewis told told hundreds of staff members inside its flagship Oxford Street store that a “highly competitive and deflationary market” was to blame.