Boots to cut 300 to 350 assistant store management roles
Boots UK is to cut up to 350 jobs as it continues to implement its three-year strategy to simplify its business.
The retailer has announced that it is beginning formal consultations with assistant store managers in larger stores across the country. This involves a proposed reduction of between 300 and 350 roles. Boots said it expects to achieve the reductions through a combination of natural attrition, redeployment, retraining and redundancy.
The retailer is also moving towards a new, multi-skilled advisor model as it looks to improve the way it responds to customer needs. This will include investing in new training academies to help staff develop additional skills. Boots will also offer training to more staff on its on No7 cosmetics brand to enable customers to receive personal advice in up to 200 extra Boots stores.
In addition, Boots has announced that it will be engaging contact centre management company Teleperformance to run its customer support centre and central support contact centre. The move will involve Teleperformance taking on around 400 existing Boots UK staff members who will transfer to it from 14 March 2016. The transferred staff will continue to work on the Boots UK site in Nottingham and will retain their existing pay and benefits.
In a further announcement, Boots said it is introducing a new, modernised reward package which includes improved base rates for all hourly paid staff in the UK.
Simon Roberts, president of Boots, said: “Everything we do at Boots is about helping people feel good. So many of our colleagues deliver amazing care for our patients, customers and communities everyday and we are actively working to make sure our people are rewarded for the great work they continue to do.
“I believe our plans will enable us to build an even better Boots and drive future growth.”
