Restructuring events
European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
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.
Specsavers, the British opticians retail chain has announced that it will cut 450 support office jobs in Guernsey, Nottingham and Whiteley (Southampton).
The company’s CEO has said that the restructuring was prompted by the “dramatic downturn” in business as a result of the COVID-19 crisis and the longer term negative economic outlook. More in detail, the company specified that it adopted a wide range strategy to avoid the redundancies - encompassing salary cuts for senior leaders, the introduction of part-time working arrangements, and the utilisation of the UK government’s furlough scheme - but this effort was not sufficient.
Staff employed in Specsavers’ 900 UK stores are not affected by the cuts, while the company will start a consultation with the interested workers in order to implement the internal restructuring.
Specsavers was founded in 1984 on the island of Guernsey. It currently employs more than 30,000 people across the world, including in Ireland, some northern European countries, Australia and New Zealand.
Eurofound (2020), Specsavers, Internal restructuring in United Kingdom, factsheet number 101085, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/101085.