Debenhams to axe thousands of jobs following coronavirus lockdown

Debenhams has announced it is axing 2,500 jobs across its stores and warehouses in a bid to cut costs following the coronavirus lockdown.
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The retailer is scrapping the roles of sales manager, visual merchandise manager and selling support manager as part of a restructuring process - but says it has no plans to close any more stores.

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It comes after the business went into administration in April, axing 422 jobs and closing seven of its stores.

Debenhams has announced thousands of job losses following the lockdown.Debenhams has announced thousands of job losses following the lockdown.
Debenhams has announced thousands of job losses following the lockdown.

The news was first reported by Retail Week.

A Debenhams spokesman 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.

"Those colleagues affected by redundancy have been informed and we are very grateful to them for their service and commitment to Debenhams.

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"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."

New data from the Office for National Statistics has found that around 730,000 workers have lost their job since the lockdown began back in March.