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Fears over 3,800 catalogue jobs Grattan to shed over 1,000 staff
(about 1 hour later)
Home shopping giant Grattan has raised fears that up to 3,800 jobs will be axed after unveiling "wide-ranging" proposals aimed at stemming losses. More than 1,000 jobs are to be cut at the Grattan home-shopping catalogue firm, the BBC has learnt.
The firm, which employs staff in Bradford, Sheffield, Peterborough and London, said all its staff had been informed their jobs may be affected. The company has unveiled "streamlining" plans, but denied that every job is at risk, said business correspondent Martin Shankleman.
It said it needed to restructure the business to bring it back to profit. Grattan employs 3,800 people at its centres in Bradford, Sheffield, Peterborough and London.
A spokesman for the Usdaw union said: "Our members are totally shocked and distressed by this news." The firm said all staff had been told their jobs may be affected in order to bring the company back into profit.
Grattan said in a statement: "This emphatically does not mean that all jobs will become redundant, although, following consultation, the restructuring and streamlining necessary to bring the business back to profit is expected to have a significant impact on levels of employment across all departments." The streamlining is expected to have a "significant impact" on levels of employment across all departments, according to a statement from Grattan.
The company employs 2,200 staff at its Bradford site, 600 at its Sheffield site, 500 in Peterborough, 100 in London and 400 in retail outlets.
It really is a bitter blow to Bradford and the surrounding area David Johnson, Usdaw union
David Johnson, national officer of the Usdaw union, said: "Everyone was aware that a business review was taking place that may have resulted in a number of redundancies.David Johnson, national officer of the Usdaw union, said: "Everyone was aware that a business review was taking place that may have resulted in a number of redundancies.
"However no-one could have predicted the scale of this announcement putting up to 3,800 jobs at risk." "I have been told that this decision is not due to the economic downturn but reflects restructuring and repositioning in the traditional catalogue home shopping sector that has seen a steady decline in recent years.
Grattan employs 2,200 staff at its Bradford site, 600 at its Sheffield site, 500 in Peterborough, 100 in London and 400 in retail outlets. "Many of the staff have worked for Grattan for a long time and also there are many different family generations who work for the company.
"They are a very hard-working and extremely loyal workforce. It really is a bitter blow to Bradford and the surrounding area."
Koert Tulleners, chief executive of Freeman Grattan Holdings, said: "Progress on our restructuring plans has been regularly communicated to our staff since being announced in spring 2008, and this next stage will be the most wide-ranging and significant.
"Until consultations are complete we are not in a position to comment or speculate on numbers of jobs and I know this will be a worrying time for colleagues.
"We have very loyal staff, customers and agents and the best and most secure outcome we can all work towards is to return FGH to profitability by the end of 2010."