John Lewis to partly close London HQ, abandon bonuses
John Lewis' new chair, Sharon White, is looking to axe jobs, close part of its London headquarters and cancel its salary bonus as part of a cost-cutting programme.
At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, reports broke that it was unlikely that all 50 of John Lewis' department stores would reopen after the lockdown - something White confirmed on Wednesday when she said several unnamed shops would be permanently shuttered, with staff set to be informed in mid-July.
Roughly 20 stores resumed trading after non-essential retailers were given permission to reopen on 15 June, while plans to open another 10 were announced on Wednesday, including the group's flagship Oxford Street store, on 16 July.
White warned that it was a "difficult reality" that it now had too much store frontage for the way consumers wanted to shop at present and warned its 80,000 staff that job cuts were likely.
"As difficult as it is, we now know that it is highly unlikely that we will reopen all our John Lewis stores. Regrettably, it is likely that there will implications for some partners' jobs," she said.
John Lewis' chair also said one of the group's two large offices in Victoria, home to 450 staff, would close as it looks to cement the "more flexible working" that has come about as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
As far as the bonus was concerned, White said it was "hard to see the circumstances" where the company would be able to pay its prized 2% annual salary bonus in 2021.
White added that the group was now "seizing opportunities" to regrow and was aiming to expand its Home department online.
"The pandemic has led to profound shifts in the way we all live and shop, even our sense of self. While this coming period of transformation will sadly mean the end of some partnership stories, we have to change for the future of the partnership," she added.
"We have to resize the business - facing into and not shying away from difficult decisions – and seize the opportunities to regrow. The prize is a sustainable partnership that is still thriving in 100 years."