Hundreds of customer service employees working for John Lewis are facing redundancy as the retailer cuts the number of people on its account from outsourcer Foundever.
The department store company’s team consists of over 1,000 staff and is shrinking by approximately 200 workers.
Foundever manages the majority of the retailer’s customer service and has served as its partner for the last 17 years, according to The Telegraph.
John Lewis claimed it was looking for jobs for affected workers but admitted some would be hit with redundancies.
The chain said its own in-house customer service team would return to the size it was before Christmas as a result of the changes.
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A John Lewis spokesman said: “Customer service is incredibly important to us and our team is made up of both in-house partners and support from third parties.
“We’re constantly reviewing our model to make sure we continue to meet our customers’ needs. We’re working with Foundever to support their staff and offer alternative roles within our own business where we can.”
The news comes after Sharon White recently claimed John Lewis would return to profit this year, as it geared up to slash up to 11,000 jobs under its turnaround plan.
The businesswoman told workers John Lewis would “more than break-even” after it made a £234m loss last year.
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