Boots takes axe to 900 HQ jobs

BOOTS is to axe 900 jobs at its Nottingham headquarters as new boss Richard Baker implements his wide-ranging cost cuts.

And there was more blood-letting in the retail sector as struggling classic clothes retailer Austin Reed, which also owns the Country Casuals chain, parted company with its chief executive after a dire Christmas performance.

This follows yesterday's news from Marks & Spencer that its clothing chief is to quit.

At Boots, one in three jobs is to go at the group's head office but it plans to add an extra 290 jobs in its stores over the coming year.

The cuts are part of the company's Getting Into Shape programme, aimed at pushing through savings of £100m over three years. They follow last year's cull of 500 at head office.

Costs of the move will be £47m, £30m of which will fall in the current financial year.

The group will realise savings of £39m a year, of which £5m has been reinvested in the new store roles.

The announcement comes ahead of Boots' trading statement tomorrow. The market is eagerly awaiting news of how the stores fared over Christmas, with analysts hoping for underlying sales growth of up to 4%.

It is also keen to hear how Baker, who joined from Asda in September, plans to revive the fortunes of one of Britain's best-known High Street names.

At Austin Reed, the search is now under way for a new chief executive following the departure of Roger Jennings.

His exit comes on the back of an 11.3% slump in underlying sales over the 22 weeks to 10 January and is likely to revive speculation of a bid for the 100-year old retailer.

At 131 1/2p, down 1/2p, the group is valued at just over £40m.