John Lewis to axe 153 jobs in store staff shake-up

John Lewis is to cut 153 jobs as part of a shake-up of its store teams designed to improve customer service.

The department store chain said the proposals will ensure that workers “are in the right place, doing the right tasks at the right time”, and therefore increase the time staff can spend face to face with shoppers.

The retailer said it hopes the job cuts, which will affect 1% of its workforce, will be met through voluntary redundancy and natural attrition.

The changes, which were announced to staff on Tuesday, follow a similar staffing overhaul at sister business Waitrose.

It will also make a multimillion pound investment in technology to improve its service for customers in shops.

As part of this, John Lewis will invest £5 million in digital headsets for store workers to communicate better with one another.

John Lewis said that staffing changes will see currently separate roles for serving front and back of house combined to create greater flexibility.

It is understood this will allow the business to bring more workers on the shop floor during particularly busy periods.

The overhaul comes amid a change in leadership at the business.

Peter Ruis takes over as John Lewis executive director in January and former Tesco UK boss Jason Tarry becomes chairman of parent firm, the John Lewis Partnership, early next year.

A spokesman for John Lewis said: “We’re seeking to make sure partners are in the right place at the right time to help customers.

“We’re also removing unnecessary tasks and introducing new technology to make their roles easier.

“We carried out similar changes in Waitrose earlier this year, with customer and partner feedback increasing significantly since.

“It’s since been ranked the number one supermarket for customer satisfaction.”