White collar Covid cull: John Lewis will axe 1,500 head office staff in cost-cutting drive to save £300m while Lloyds is set to lay-off 1,070 employees

John Lewis has announced today it is to cut 1,500 head office jobs in an effort to bolster the business in the devastating coronavirus pandemic.

The John Lewis Partnership revealed the cuts as part of the next phase of its five-year plan to return it to sustainable profits by 2025.

It is the latest blow of the high street bloodbath consuming retail in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak.

John Lewis - famous for its Christmas ads - is widely seen as a benchmark for High Street performance in the UK. 

But it received a serious blow earlier this year after its Waitrose arm was ditched by Ocado in favour of Marks & Spencer. 

John Lewis announced it will cut 1,500 head office jobs to bolster the business

The news came on the same day Lloyds Banking Group has said it plans to cut another 1,070 jobs as it continues a major restructuring programme.

John Lewis said Patrick Lewis, Executive Director, Finance had also decided to leave at the end of this year ending a 26-year career.

Chairman Sharon White said: 'Our Partnership Plan sets a course to create a thriving and sustainable business for the future.

Lloyds Banking Group has said it plans to cut another 1,070 jobs amid the continuing pandemic

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Shops that can stay open:

Shops that must shut (including but not limited to): 

'To achieve this we must be agile and able to adapt quickly to the changing needs of our customers.”

'Losing Partners is incredibly hard as an employee-owned business.

'Wherever possible, we will seek to find new roles in the Partnership and we’ll provide the best support and retraining opportunities for Partners who leave us.'

It comes a month after its flagship department store in Oxford Street was granted permission to change some shopping areas into offices.

The third to the eighth floors of the building have been earmarked to have their uses transformed. 

Lloyds said its latest restructuring move will result in a net reduction of around 740 roles, as it will also create a further 330 positions across the business.

It is the latest set of redundancies after the group restarted its major restructuring programme following the pandemic.

In September, it said it would slash 865 jobs mainly in its insurance, wealth and retail teams. 

A Lloyds Banking Group spokeswoman said: 'This morning we shared changes to some of our teams and we can confirm a net reduction of around 730 roles.

'These changes reflect our ongoing plans to continue to meet our customers' changing needs and make parts of our business simpler.

Lloyds Banking Group Plc's large company headquarters in Gresham Street, London

More than 10 per cent of UK hospitality chiefs say they could axe 50 per cent or more of their workforce by the end of the year, a YouGov poll has revealed. Behind hospitality was real estate, where eight per cent of bosses revealed they could make cuts by Christmas, and transport and distribution firms, of which six per cent said they could cut 50 per cent of more of their workforce by the end of 2020

The data reveals nearly a fifth (18 per cent) of education-based businesses could also make cuts of between 20 and 29 per cent of their workforce by the New Year, while a third of bosses at legal firms across the UK believe they will have to cut up to 10 per cent of their staff 

Bosses of large (more than 250 employees) and medium (50-249 staff) businesses, firms in the hospitality sector and those in Scotland and Wales were most likely to make the biggest cuts, with some warning of cuts of up to 60 per cent of their workforce, the YouGov figures reveal

M&S shoppers book slots 

Shoppers at Marks & Spencer can now jump the lockdown supermarket queue by booking a timed slot to enter the chain's food halls.

With lockdown two starting on Thursday amid plunging temperatures, dismal scenes of supermarket queues and already booked out online delivery slots look set to become all too familiar once again.

Dubbed 'Sparks Book and Shop', M&S shoppers with or without a Sparks loyalty card can now visit its website and book a guaranteed time slot to shop at their local store without having to queue.

After a trial across 80 stores in Scotland and Wales, the scheme is now available to use across all M&S's 566 food halls and larger stores containing food halls. 

Dominic Roberts, a store manager at M&S in Pontardulais, said: 'At a time when it's been hard to plan ahead, customers like the certainty of being able to book a slot and we've received great feedback about the service - especially as restrictions have increased.'

The move may prove popular for those who like to do a physical shop rather than head online to get groceries in.

'The majority of colleagues briefed today will not leave until January at the earliest.

'We will help colleagues who are affected find new roles and redeployment opportunities wherever possible.

'Everyone will be given access to a package of training and support designed to help them secure their next position, whether within or outside of our business.

'Change does mean making difficult decisions and our focus remains on supporting our customers, colleagues and communities.'

Rob MacGregor, Unite national officer, said: 'Unite cannot comprehend why LBG would choose to cut 1,000 staff who have given the bank such commitment and dedication during a global pandemic.

'These staff have worked tirelessly despite any risks to themselves.'

These latest cuts come less than a fortnight after it told most of its 65,000 staff to work from home until spring at the earliest.

Lloyds wants them to stay away from the office for at least the next five months.

It said it was following Government guidance urging employees to work remotely if they can.

The move by the bank came as a blow to the City of London, where it employs thousands.

About two-thirds are working from home, but staff are still serving customers at its 890 branches. 

Chris Williamson, an economist at the business consultancy IHS Markit, warned: 'The pace of economic growth slowed in October to the weakest since recovery from the national lockdown began.'

Other large firms are closing offices or asking employees if they want to work from home for ever.

The consultancy Deloitte could shut four offices, which would leave 500 people working from home. 

How nearly 215,000 job losses have been revealed by major UK firms since lockdown began 

Some 214,651 job losses have been announced by major British employers since the start of the coronavirus lockdown in March as follows: