More than 400 jobs will be lost at Wilko as the retailer bids to cut costs in a "fight for survival". Wilko reportedly plans to cut 95 workers at its contact centre in Worksop after outsourcing to a company in South Africa, as well as 150 assistant store managers and reducing hours of team supervisors equivalent to a loss of 150 full-time workers.
The company, which is based in Manton Wood Enterprise Park in Worksop, previously warned of its plans to outsource its customer service operations and that from February 2023 all customer enquires would be dealt with by a third party. Mark Jackson, chief executive of Wilko, told The Guardian: "We've identified significant changes to the Wilko operating model to enable us to stabilise the business and then thrive again.
"This includes some proposed changes to our management structure at both our stores and head office. We're fully supporting affected individuals.
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"We know change will be unsettling to our team members and the wider business, and we're acting swiftly to put in place the new organisational structure to stabilise and grow." Wilko employs a total of around 16,000 staff members and is currently consulting with the GMB Union to reduce job losses.
Nadine Houghton, GMB national officer, told The Guardian: "Wilko is going through significant changes at the moment and ultimately the business is in a fight for survival. We are seeing continued and increasing job losses throughout the retail sector and this is something that warrants an urgent, strategic response from the Government."
Wilko is the UK's 23rd biggest retailer with a 20,000 product lines, from household goods to pet food, across more than 400 stores. However, the business is struggling with the number of shoppers on the high street still more than 10% lower than the levels experienced before the pandemic.
It is believed that with the current cost of living crisis, consumer spending has been more cautious as people are paying more attention to what they are buying with rising energy bills and food prices.
In a statement to Nottinghamshire Live, Wilko chief executive Mr Jackson said: "We've already begun our turnaround programme to drive Wilko forward. As part of this we quickly identified significant changes to the Wilko operating model to enable us to stabilise the business, and then thrive again.
"This includes some planned and considered changes to our management structure at both our stores and head office. We can't comment on the numbers of team members affected as conversations are still ongoing, but it goes without saying, we're fully supporting any affected individuals.
"We know change will be unsettling to our team members and the wider business, and we're acting swiftly to put in place the new organisational structure."
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