Bonmarché is set to slash 140 jobs while reviewing staff contracts as it enters into a consultation process with its employees.
According to Retail Week, the fashion retailer is looking to make 140 store assistants redundant, while introducing a mobility clause into staff contracts.
This clause would mean staff are required to travel up to 25 miles to another store to offset staff shortages.
Staff have pushed back against the proposal, stating it is an unreasonable request to travel 25 miles on public transport on a store assistant’s wage.
The value womenswear retailer reported a 38.1 per cent rise in bottom line pre-tax profits to £8 million for the year to March 31, alongside a 27 per cent uptick in profits on an underlying basis.
It said the 34.5 per cent spike in online sales helped offset “disappointing” high street sales, which was shown through a 4.5 per cent dip in like-for-like store sales.
Bonmarche has implemented a turnaround strategy under Helen Connolly’s leadership, which includes a revamp of its online offer after poor website sales in 2016-17, improving its marketing tactics, overhauling its supplier base and cutting costs where possible.
This recent round of job cuts is expected to be part of the retailer’s cost cutting drive.
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