John Lewis Announces Significant Workforce Reduction Plans

John Lewis is set to reduce its workforce by up to 11,000 jobs, or 10%, over the next five years.

The retailer aims to return to profitability by not filling vacancies and making redundancies, though exact figures were not disclosed to the BBC. The cuts are part of an investment strategy to improve customer service, technology, and store efficiency.

Despite recent improvements, the company, which has 76,000 staff and is owned by its employees—known as Partners—through a trust, must reduce its workforce, as stated by a company spokesperson.

The announcement follows a challenging financial period for John Lewis, which saw a full-year loss of £234m in March 2023, resulting in no staff bonus, store closures, and job losses.

These difficulties were attributed to rising costs, including inflation, labor, energy, and freight. The company also faced internal discontent over plans to halve the redundancy package, with employees calling for partnership council discussions and expressing frustration over unequal treatment compared to senior executives' redundancy terms.