Debenhams to cut 2,500 jobs
Debenhams is planning 2,500 job cuts taking the number of redundancies at the department store chain to more than 7,500 in 2020.
The struggling retailer is reducing the number of shop staff at its stores with trading slow after 124 branches were reopened following the Covid-19 lockdown. It said employees affected had been informed and thanked them for their service to the business.
Debenhams has cut 4,000 jobs since it went into administration in April. The group also made more than a thousand staff redundant when it shut more than 20 stores in January.
The company said: “We have successfully reopened 124 stores, post-lockdown, and these are currently trading ahead of management expectations. At the same time, 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.
"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.” The company put itself up for sale in July in what is likely to be its last chance of survival.
Debenhams joins John Lewis, Boots, WH Smith and other retailers in announcing thousands of job cuts over the summer under pressure from the Covid-19 crisis and a deep recession. Official figures on Tuesday showed UK employment falling at its fastest pace in more than a decade with many economists expecting many more job losses when the government's furlough programme ends in October.