Kentish Express Ashford & District
Redundancies feared as Boots shuts photo lab
The photo lab at Ashford Boots is one of the 220 of the retailer’s photo departments across the country set to be axed.
A number of jobs at the North Street branch are at risk, and the company has moved into the consultation stages.
Earlier this month, the health and beauty specialist announced plans to close 220 of its 320 labs as demand for traditional photo processing diminishes and digital photography continues to grow.
The consultation process is expected to stretch into August, when staff will be find out if they will be offered retraining, redeployment, new roles or redundancy.
Store manager, Phil Hayton, said it was a sensitive time at the Ashford branch as staff waited to hear their fate.
He said: “The photo market is changing so we are just adapting to the changes.
“With digital, a lot of people want photos urgently and straight away, so we are adapting to that.
“There are possible redundancies at the moment, so it is a sensitive time.”
The photo lab in Ashford Boots opened in 1976 when the store moved into the town centre.
One member of staff said he has worked at the branch for more than 20 years.
Mr Hayton added: “We will be sad to see the photo lab go, but we are pleased we are going to be having new digital services.
“Generally, across the whole of the UK, the instant digital service is declining.
“We are still going to be offering a digital service, and the closest one will be within a half-hour drive – in Canterbury.
“We are still undecided exactly what we are going to use the space for, but our boots.com services are getting bigger at the moment so it could be storage for our online orders.”