Matalan says tough trading conditions forced 300 job cuts |
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Mon, 22 Aug 2005 06:05
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LONDON - British clothes retailer Matalan has announced that it is downsizing 300 jobs in a bid to cut the costs that have soared as a result of decreasing sales.
The company also said that it was hoping to save around £15 million a year as a result of these job cuts. "This is regrettable but prudent given the current retail environment, but it's not a surprise. And it is only 300 out of a total staff of around 14,000", a spokeswoman for the company said. She added that the company would be culling one job from each of its 190 stores plus 100 jobs from its Lancashire headquarters that employs 700 people. These cuts would be affected by not renewing the contract of the people who are leaving or finishing their current contracts.
Matalan's director of human resources, Anthony McDaniel is one among the 300 who are set to lose their jobs. McDaniel job was sacrificed due to the massive restructuring taking place in his department. The company said that some of the redundant employees would be offered relocation or voluntary redundancy payments. It is not very clear if McDaniel is one among them. Matalan had announced the redundancies in June, but had not given any numbers. The company has already warned that the profits for the year were going to hit rock bottom and are set to be lower than all predictions if the current consumer spending levels continue to prevail for the rest of the year.
The group said that same-store sales were 6.5 percent less in the nine weeks to July 2. French Connection, Marks & Spencer and Boots are the other retailers who have issued similar warnings due to the tough trading conditions.
UK's retail sector is going through a trying time and it is estimated that around 8,000 jobs have been lost in the first six months of the year.
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