Wilko has announced plans to cut more than 400 jobs, including assistant store managers and retail supervisors, in a bid to to control costs.
The retailer has allegedly told staff it plans to reduce hours for team supervisors in 150 of its 401 stores after a fall in sales.
The cuts also include about 150 assistant store managers and around 95 workers from its contact centre in Worksop whose work is being outsourced to a South African company later this month, claims Retail Gazette
The chain has stores in Arnold and Carlton.
Mark Jackson, the chief executive of Wilko, said: “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. 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.”
The GMB union said it was consulting with Wilko, which employs 16,000 staff in total, in an effort to reduce job losses.
“Wilko is going through significant changes at the moment and ultimately the business is in a fight for survival,” said Nadine Houghton, GMB national officer.
“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.”
Reports say Wilko’s struggles come as the number of shoppers out and about remains more than 10% below pre-pandemic levels.
While consumer spending has been better than expected in recent months, retailers say shoppers are being cautious about what they buy amid rising energy bills, food costs and mortgage rates.
Well, I’m not surprised, in Carlton Sq the shelves are always bare, no soap bars or shampoo. A lot of them are devoid of stock. Always ‘waiting for stock’. I wonder sometimes if it’s deliberate. Just like JTF, full of excuses and then next time it’s shut!