When asked if job cuts were included in her plans for ‘quite bold changes’, the chair, who will be stepping down early next year, didn’t dismiss the possibility, This is Money reported.
‘We are trying to simplify the way we work, so that our amazing partners have got more time in front of customers’, she told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg on 11 March.
Back in January, the retailer said it would be cutting as many as 11,000 roles over the next five years as part of its cost cutting efforts.
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On Thursday (14 March) John Lewis Partnership is anticipated to return to profit after three consecutive years of losses as it launched an aggressive £900m cost-cutting programme.
Retail analyst Nick Bubb expects the Partnership to report an underlying profit of about £25m, after a loss of more than £77m last year.
In contrast to the looming cuts, this month the the group revealed its biggest increase in basic pay in its history as part of a £116m investment, higher than Tesco’s “biggest ever single investment” of £300m into shop employees and more than Currys’ £13m boost into pay.
Effective April 1, the increase is expected to see minimum pay rates increase by 10% to £12.89 in London and £11.55 per hour nationwide.
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