Sir Philip Green’s Topshop empire are set to announce redundancies and John Lewis have warned of store closures with job cuts.
Sir Philips Arcadia group are to axe around 500 jobs out of their 2,500 head office jobs amid a restructuring plan due to the pandemic.
Sharon White the new chairman of the John Lewis confirmed they are to shut shops and cut on of its two offices in Victoria, London.
John Lewis said, “The reality is that we have too much store space for the way people want to shop now and we have shared this with our partners.
“As difficult as it is, it is highly unlikely we will reopen all our John Lewis stores.
“However, no decision has been made and any details would be shared with partners first by the middle of July.”
It is unlikely that all 50 of their stores will ever reopen after lockdown, insiders have warned.
Arcadia group blames “very challenging times” and has revealed plans to trim its head office operations.
The group said, “Due to the impact of Covid-19 on our business including the closure for over three months of all our stores and head offices, we have today informed staff of the need to restructure our head offices.”
“This restructuring is essential to ensure that we operate as efficiently as possible during these very challenging times.”
Milan Pandya, a partner at tax and advisory firm Blick Rothenberg has called on the Chancellor Rishi Sunak for a “clear and comprehensive plan,” to support non-essential retailers who face severe financial difficulties.
Pandya said, “The fashion industry alone employs in excess of 900,000 people, many being in retail stores.
“If the recent spate of closures and redundancies continue the overnment has a real long-term problem of unemployment as many jobs will be relatively low-skilled.”
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