Littlewoods

600 jobs
Number of planned job losses

Announcement Date

9 December 2005

Employment effect (start)

Foreseen end date

Description

Up to 600 staff at the Littlewoods' mail-order business in Manchester could lose their jobs in the final weeks of 2005 as the business relocates to a new head office at Speke in Liverpool. The new Littlewoods home-shopping office is 35 miles from the existing Manchester base and up to 60% of the Manchester staff could now lose their jobs. Littlewoods Shop Direct - which includes the former GUS mail-order business and is owned by the billionaire entrepreneurs Sir Frederick and Sir David Barclay - operates from two offices, in Liverpool and Manchester. Both offices employ about 1,000 people. The catalogue group announced plans to transfer to a office in Speke in 2008. A spokesman for Littlewoods Shop Direct said the company was hoping to minimise job cuts, but it was inevitable there would be redundancies. However, there are fewer jobs available at Speke and the retail union USDAW has been informed that up to 600 staff could lose their positions. USDAW's said: 'We are very disappointed. I don't expect to see many staff at Manchester going to work at Speke. The journey will be beyond the majority of people, with the exception of company management.'

Sources

• 9 December 2005: The Guardian