{"id":166781,"date":"2020-06-30T09:37:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-30T09:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theindustry.fashion\/harrods-to-make-redundancies-of-up-to-14\/"},"modified":"2021-08-06T12:06:21","modified_gmt":"2021-08-06T12:06:21","slug":"harrods-to-make-redundancies-of-up-to-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theindustry.fashion\/harrods-to-make-redundancies-of-up-to-14\/","title":{"rendered":"Harrods to make redundancies of up to 14%"},"content":{"rendered":"
Harrods<\/a> is to set to make redundancies for up to 700 staff members, as the business seeks to reduce its headcount by up to 14%<\/strong>, TheIndustry.fashion can reveal.<\/p>\n In a letter seen by TheIndustry.fashion, CEO Michael Ward told staff members that the future would include transparency<\/strong> about the difficulties Harrods is facing as a business.<\/p>\n Ward confirms that \"due to the ongoing impacts of this pandemic, we as a business will need to make reductions to our workforce<\/strong>\".<\/p>\n \"The necessary social distancing requirements to protect employees and customers is having a huge impact on our ability to trade, while the devastation in international travel has meant we have lost key customers coming to our store and frontline operations.\"<\/p>\n Teams impacted by the redundancies will primarily be in parts of the business that have been most affected by the challenges of lockdown<\/b>, with inside a source close to Harrods suggesting it would also affect those on probation.<\/p>\n Yesterday, Harrods confirmed it was continuing with plans to open its Harrods Outlet<\/a> store in Westfield London<\/a>.<\/p>\n When asked for comment, a spokesperson for Harrods said: \"We can confirm that Harrods is beginning consultation to reduce up to 14% of our current workforce of 4,800 colleagues.<\/p>\n \"This decision was made following a thorough review into all available options, but driven by a need to aid recovery in the short-term through cutting costs and protecting the business in the longer-term.<\/strong><\/p>\n \"Throughout the lockdown period, Harrods has continued to pay furloughed employees in full and provided support through its in-house Corporate Health Service. It will continue to support employees undergoing consultation and leaving the business.<\/p>\n \"The business will proactively support those colleagues in looking for alternative employment through our L&D and Resourcing teams. We will also ensure continued access to tools such as LinkedIn Learning, as well as access to our occupational health services and our employee support provider.\"<\/p>\n