The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
Retail Retail Trade, Except Of Motor Vehicles And Motorcycles Retail Sale Of Food, Beverages And Tobacco In Specialised Stores 47.25 - Retail sale of beverages in specialised stores
1,800 jobs Number of planned job losses
Announcement Date
20 December 2005
Employment effect (start)
Foreseen end date
Description
Unwins, the off-licence chain has been shut down with the loss of 1,800 jobs, after administrators took control of the business. Myles Halley, joint administrator from KPMG, said: 'Unwins has suffered, like other off-licence chains, from increased competition from supermarkets and tight margins. The business is believed to have debts of about £30 million. Some 400 employees, mostly shop managers, had been made redundant earlier this month as Unwins had shut all but 95 of its 350 stores, putting many leases up for sale. Suppliers are believed to have been concerned about Unwins' future for some time, keeping the company to tight credit agreements. Stock has been running down for some months.
Sources
21 December 2005: The Guardian
Citation
Eurofound (2005), Unwins, Closure in United Kingdom, factsheet number 62644, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/62644.
Digitisation and automation technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), can affect working conditions in a variety of ways and their use in the workplace raises a host of new ethical concerns.
The retail banking sector is fertile ground for studying the impacts of digitalisation on work and employment. Financial services are increasingly provided online, without the intermediary of customer-facing institutions.
European labour markets have recovered strongly from COVID-19. By the end of 2021, little more than 18 months after the start of the pandemic, employment rates in the EU were almost at pre-crisis levels.
