100 jobs axed by Littlewoods

Oct 8 2007

ONE hundred jobs in Liverpool have been axed by Littlewoods Shop Direct.

The Speke-based catalogue and online retail group announced the losses as part of a total of 280 job cuts nationwide.

The shake-up is in addition to 200 job losses announced last month after a company review.

A company spokesman said the majority of redundancies will be centred on the financial services arm in Sunderland, but up to 100 jobs will disappear at its Skyways headquarters on Speke’s Estuary Commerce Park and a handful of roles at its Crosby call centre.

The company explained that as part of its “ongoing transformation” it has been reviewing the cost and efficiency of various parts of the group.

A statement said: “Today we are announcing the proposed organisational impacts of these reviews which in total may result in up to 280 job losses.

“As a consequence, the company will shortly commence a formal consultation process with potentially affected employees and is working with the trade unions and management team.”

The spokesman said about 100 head office jobs could disappear and about 150 could go in Sunderland. The remaining 30 redundancies will be spread across contact centres in Crosby, Burnley and Preston.

Early last month the firm announced plans to axe a tenth of its Speke workforce with the loss of 200 jobs.

Usdaw union chiefs vowed to try and reduce the impact of the job cuts and have been locked in talks with the company since it announced a 90-day consultation period linked to the cuts.