Wilko Pushes High Street Job Losses to 100,000
- Figures Bring Into Focus Scale of Crisis That has Engulfed Industry Since Covid
- Debenhams and Philip Green’s Arcadia Empire Among High-Profile Casualties
- Up to 12,500 Jobs Could be Lost for Good at Wilko
The demise of Wilko is poised to increase the number of job losses in British High Street collapses to over 100,000 since 2020.
Figures from the Centre of Retail Research (CRR) highlight the magnitude of the crisis that has affected the industry since the pandemic began.
High-profile casualties include Debenhams and Philip Green’s Arcadia empire, which included Topshop.
Up to 12,500 jobs could be permanently lost at Wilko. While competitors B&M and Poundland have acquired a total of 122 stores, Wilko staff remain uncertain about their future. The Range has acquired Wilko’s brand and website, but only 36 jobs on the digital team have been saved.
By next month, all 398 Wilko stores will have closed, marking the largest retail failure since Woolworths in 2008. CRR data shows that there have been more than 17,000 job losses at large to medium-sized retailers this year so far, including some at Wilko.
Demise: Up to 12,500 jobs could be lost for good at Wilko
These are actual jobs lost, rather than those saved by other companies that intervene and hire the workers.
In 2022, 6,732 jobs were lost in the retail sector, while in 2021, the number was 24,179. In 2020, it reached 53,364 as the pandemic took hold.
This means that over 101,000 people have lost their jobs since 2020, including Wilko employees who have either been laid off or are at risk of losing their jobs.
Other major job losses occurred at Arcadia (13,000) and Debenhams (18,500) in 2020. In the past year, 133 staff were laid off at fashion brand Joules following its acquisition by Next, and 330 jobs were cut at fast-fashion brand Miss
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Denial of responsibility! Vigour Times is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
