John Lewis reportedly mulling 10 percent workforce cut

British department store chain John Lewis is understood to be mulling a 10 percent cut in its workforce, accounting for 11,000 staff jobs which would be axed over the next five years.

It comes amid the revelation that the retail group had slashed its redundancy terms in a bid to “free up cash” to support its ongoing turnaround plan.

At the time of the announcement, there had been speculation surrounding possible layoffs as a result, however now The Guardian reported that the company is working on plans to gradually reduce the number of roles over several years.

According to the media outlet, which cited a “well-placed” source, the move could come in the form of both redundancies and not replacing staff who leave.

The chain store has already had a turbulent past year after reports at the beginning of 2023 began circulating regarding a possible stake sale to secure capital, which had ultimately drawn criticism from partners and employees that maintain majority ownership.

Backlash was only amplified when it was revealed that part of its transformation plan was to potentially result in job cuts and a streamlining of its stores, all in an effort to reach 400 million pounds profits by 2025, a mission that is now not expected to be complete until 2027/28.

On the most recent redundancy cuts, a spokesperson for John Lewis told the Telegraph last week: “We’re making changes as a high proportion of our current benefits package is weighted towards partners after they have left, when we want to better reward those currently working for us.

“These changes will allow us to invest more in our partners still within the business.”