Type
Internal restructuring
Country
United Kingdom
Region
Location of affected unit(s)
Milton Keynes, Welwyn Garden City, Dundee
Sector
Retail
Retail Trade, Except Of Motor Vehicles And Motorcycles
Retail Sale Via Stalls And Markets Or Other
47.91 - Retail sale via mail order houses or via Internet

500 jobs
Number of planned job losses
Job loss
Announcement Date
22 May 2018
Employment effect (start)
22 May 2018
Foreseen end date
1 August 2018

Description

Tesco UK has announced that it will close its e-commerce website Tesco Direct, making 500 employees redundant. In a statement issued on 22nd May, Tesco UK’s chief executive officer said that the website will stop operating on the 9th July 2018 and the fulfilment centre in Milton Keynes, which handles the orders submitted through Tesco Direct, will close in August. The closure of Tesco Direct will also affect some staff at the company’s head office in Welwyn Garden City and at the Dundee Customer Service Centre. The company has entered into redundancy consultations with the trade union Usdaw.

The CEO of Tesco UK said that the website was not profitable and the decision to close it “is an essential step towards growing our business for the future." The national officer for the Usdaw union pledged that employees will be supported, advised and represented during this difficult period in order to get the best possible deal for them.

Tesco Direct was established in 2006 and sold non-food items, homeware, clothing, toys and electricals for home delivery or in-store collection.


Sources

  • 22 May 2018: BBC News
  • 22 May 2018: Tesco (press release)
  • 22 May 2018: Usdaw union (press release)
  • 22 May 2018: The Guardian website

Citation

Eurofound (2018), Tesco UK, Internal restructuring in United Kingdom, factsheet number 94205, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/94205.