Waterstones starts consultations with 560 managers
Waterstones has told 560 managers that their jobs are at risk as it prepares to restructure its business to “secure the future” of the bookshop chain.
In an email to staff seen by the Bookseller magazine, managing director James Daunt said that the chain’s branch managers, assistant managers, general managers and deputy managers will enter into a consultation before the company is restructured and the roles are abolished. Under the new structure these positions will be replaced by a bookshop manager whose role will “call on different skills”.
Waterstones said that the move was partly a result of “unforgiving trading conditions” but would help the company to become a “better, stronger bookseller” as it focuses more on traditional shop-floor bookselling.
Daunt added: “These changes are not primarily about saving costs. We have restructured the business and moved to a cluster system, which no longer requires a mainly administrative management in our shops.”
