John Lewis pruned 3,800 jobs in a year

RETAIL giant John Lewis Partnership has axed 3,800 jobs over the past year in its department stores and supermarkets, as it races to cut costs, The Telegraph reports.

As per the new filings, the number of staff working at John Lewis department stores and Waitrose supermarkets has dropped to 70,500 at the end of January, compared with 74,300 a year earlier.

This was largely driven by attrition, as managers chose not to replace the staff who left. The company has saved around £26m in employment costs over the year.

The retailer’s finances also benefitted from a decision not to pay staff a cost of living bonus in 2023.

Across the partnership, it has around 10,000 fewer staff than in early 2020.

The company aims to strip an extra £600m of costs, on top of £300m already cut in recent years, as part of its turnaround efforts.

The majority of staff changes over the past year were in Waitrose stores, where the staff strength has been reduced to 49,600 in January from an average of 52,700 a year earlier.

Waitrose also unveiled plans to cut night shifts at some stores and offered employees voluntary redundancy at other locations.

The company also plans to close one of its Waitrose delivery warehouses that employs more than 500 people.

Earlier this year, the partnership had cut its redundancy pay scheme, making it cheaper to lay off staff.