The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
25,000 jobs on the line with Arcadia’s collapse
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said the UK Government “stands ready” to help workers affected by job losses at Arcadia and Debenhams.
Mr Sunak told the Commons: “The news about Arcadia, and indeed Debenhams, is deeply worrying for employees and their families and the government stands ready to support them.
“With regard to various things that are ongoing, there are negotiations between various parties and the companies at the moment – particularly with regard to pensions – and it wouldn’t be right for me to comment specifically on those.”
Retail workers in stores forming part of the Arcadia empire, including Topshop, Wallis and Evans, arrived at work yesterday.
Workers on Oxford Street, in central London, prepared stores ahead of reopening after the English lockdown, despite news Arcadia had fallen into administration.
Arcadia, which runs 444 stores in the UK and 22 overseas, said 9,294 employees are on furlough.
No redundancies have been announced and stores will continue to trade, the administrators said.
Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove said he believed there were “missteps” that led to high street giant Arcadia collapsing into administration.
He would not comment on whether he felt Sir Philip Green should plug the hole in the pension deficit himself as 13,000 staff face uncertainty over their jobs.
Mr Gove told BBC Breakfast: “I think there have been some missteps along the way, and certainly that’s the view of many analysts. But it’s also been the case that many high street retailers are having a very tough time, mainly of course because of the Covid restrictions, and that’s one of the reasons why through the furlough scheme and support we’re doing everything we can to support businesses.”