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.
Glasgow, Irvine, Lanark, Falkirk, Port Glasgow, Hamilton, Livingston, Clydebank, Clarkston, Robroyston and Ayr.
Sector
Retail Retail Trade, Except Of Motor Vehicles And Motorcycles Retail Sale In Non-Specialised Stores 47.1 - Retail sale in non-specialised stores
251 - 306 jobs Number of planned job losses
Announcement Date
15 October 2019
Employment effect (start)
18 October 2019
Foreseen end date
31 December 2019
Description
The Scottish department store group Watt Brothers has filed for bankruptcy and 251 people have been made redundant with immediate effect. Ten stores located across Scotland have already been closed down, but the flagship store with 55 employees in Glasgow remains open, while the administrators are looking for a buyer. However, their jobs are also at risk - unless a buyer is found, the Glasgow store will close in December 2019. A spokesperson for the administrators said that it is being worked with some local labour offices to support the affected staff.
Watt Brothers, a family-owned business, was established in 1915. The company’s difficult financial position is caused by growing challenges in the UK retail sector.
Eurofound (2019), Watt Brothers, Bankruptcy in United Kingdom, factsheet number 99128, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/99128.
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.
