UK firms slash 11,000 jobs in two days

At least 11,000 people in the UK are set to lose their jobs after a raft of firms announced cuts in the past 48 hours.

The cuts are mainly being made by High Street retailers and in aviation – two of the sectors hardest hit by the coronavirus lockdown.

John Lewis has said it will close stores but has not confirmed how many jobs will go.

Topshop owner Arcadia and Harrods said they planned a total of 1,180 job cuts.

Others lay-offs to have been announced include:

-Up to 5,000 job cuts at Upper Crust owner SSP GroupUp to 700 jobs at Harrods
-About 600 workers at shirtmaker TM Lewin
-300 staff cuts across Virgin Money, Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank
-1,700 UK jobs at planemaker Airbus
-1,300 crew and 727 pilots at EasyJet
WH Smith, Bensons for Beds, Wrights Pies, tableware-maker Steelite International, the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool and Norwich Theatre Royal have also announced plans to reduce staff.

The redundancy plans come ahead of the government’s planned paring-back of the furlough scheme, which is currently paying 80% of the pay of staff kept from their work.

Why so many job losses now?
From next month, employers must pay National Insurance and pension contributions, then 10% of pay from September, rising to 20% in October.

“So there is already a cost to the employer from just a month’s time, said BBC business correspondent Simon Gompertz.

“That must concentrate minds. Then the cost escalates in September.

“Smaller firms, having to give just 30 days’ notice of redundancy, might think now is the time to act.

“Larger employers, planning bigger layoffs, will be eyeing that escalating wage bill and maybe thinking the sooner they move the better.”

Another reason that has been suggested is that companies with financial quarters ending last month want to show shareholders they are taking action over poor figures, he added.

‘Too much space’
John Lewis’s plans were first shared with staff at the company, which is owned by its employees. The number of stores and jobs which will go has yet to be decided.

Cuts could also include the smaller of its two head office buildings in London.

“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,” the company said in a statement.

“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.”

The company is unlikely to pay its workers a bonus next year, it added.

It follows a warning from the company in March that it could close shops, as a plunge in profits forced it to cut staff bonuses to their lowest level in almost 70 years.

John Lewis, which also owns Waitrose, launched a review of the business, which it said would involve “rightsizing” its stores across both brands.

Separately, Upper Crust owner SSP Group said it was having to make cuts across its UK outlets and head office, because it was struggling in the face of a reduction in passenger travel.