Tour operator and car dealerships latest to announce major cuts
Tour operator Tui and car retailer Pendragon become the latest big names in the retail sector to announce major job losses yesterday.
Tui is to close nearly a third of its stores in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, blaming the “difficult” decision to shut 166 shops on the need to cut costs because of the coronavirus pandemic.
It plans to move 70 per cent of the 900 affected jobs to a new “home-working sales and service team”, and to relocate staff to vacancies in the remaining 350 retail stores.
Pendragron, which owns Evans Halshaw and Stratstone, said it will shed 1,800 jobs and close 15 of its dealerships.
The firm expects around 400 redundancies as a result of closing its loss-making sites, with a further 1,400 job cuts coming as part of plans to make its operations “leaner and more sustainable”.
Tui announced in May that it planned to cut around 8,000 jobs globally as it seeks to reduce overhead costs by 30 per cent.
Andrew Flintham, managing director of Tui UK and Ireland, said: “Customer behaviours have already changed in recent years, with 70 per cent of all Tui UK bookings taking place online.
“We believe Covid-19 has only accelerated this change in purchasing habits, with people looking to buy online or wishing to speak with travel experts from the comfort of their own home.
“We have world-class travel advisers at Tui, so we hope many of them will become home-workers and continue to offer the personalised service we know our customers value.”
Tui said it will not be publishing a list of potential store closures but none of those which have reopened since coronavirus lockdown restrictions were eased are at risk.
The travel industry has been badly hit by Government restrictions and the collapse in demand during the pandemic.
Tui resumed its flights and holidays programme on 11 July but has cancelled trips to Spain due to the UK’S decision to reimpose quarantine requirements and travel warnings.
Pendragon’s cuts come as part of a review started by the firm before the coronavirus crisis hit, which further damaged demand for cars.
It said it will close seven freehold and eight leasehold dealerships - which together made a loss of £2 million last year - as they are “no longer expected to be viable”.
The closures and related redundancies are expected to cost the company £2.2 million, with associated impairment charges of around £5.5m.