Britain's largest pharmacy Boots and department store group John Lewis said on Thursday they would cut at least 5,300 jobs despite government efforts to safeguard employment during the coronavirus pandemic.
US-owned Boots said it would shed more than 4,000 positions after the UK lockdown slashed sales.
John Lewis meanwhile said it did not plan to reopen eight stores forced to shut because of the lockdown, affecting 1,300 jobs.
During the pandemic, thousands of Boots and John Lewis staff have had up to 80 per cent of their wages paid by the UK government under the state's furlough scheme, which finance minister Rishi Sunak has said must end in October.
Replacing the programme is a stimulus package worth £30 billion (Dh139bn) unveiled on Wednesday by Mr Sunak.
The new measures include bonuses handed to companies for retaining furloughed staff and for offering apprenticeships amid fears of mass youth unemployment resulting from Covid-19 fallout.
"People need to know that although hardship lies ahead, no one will be left without hope," Mr Sunak told the UK Parliament on Wednesday, delivering a mini budget aimed at kick-starting Britain's economy devastated by the country's lockdown restrictions.
Noting that "people are anxious about losing their jobs, about unemployment rising", Mr Sunak said: "We're not just going to accept this."
But he insisted that the furlough scheme "cannot and should not go on for ever", with the taxpayer continuing to spend billions of pounds on paying the wages of millions of workers.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesman said on Thursday that while news of the retail job losses was "very worrying" for staff, the government had "put in place a very substantial package which allows businesses to draw upon a range of financial support during this challenging time".
Boots and John Lewis both said on Thursday that online trading was becoming more central to their businesses.
At John Lewis, where physical stores were already struggling before the coronavirus outbreak as shoppers switched to online shopping, said it expected to sell the majority of its goods through the internet this year and in 2021.
"Before the virus struck, 40 per cent of John Lewis sales were online," the company said in a statement on Thursday.
"This could now be closer to 60 to 70 per cent of total sales this year and next."
Among the eight shops shutting permanently is a department store in England's second biggest city, Birmingham, and a much smaller outlet at London's Heathrow airport.
John Lewis forms part of the John Lewis Partnership comprising also the upmarket Waitrose supermarket.
"Closing a shop is always incredibly difficult," John Lewis Partnership chairwoman Sharon White said in a statement.
"However, we believe closures are necessary to help us secure the sustainability of the Partnership and continue to meet the needs of our customers however and wherever they want to shop."
Boots meanwhile said that Covid-19 had "accelerated the shift by consumers towards digital channels and online shopping".
Owned by Walgreens Boots Alliance, Boots UK said it planned "significant restructuring across its head office, store teams and opticians … resulting in a reduction of its headcount of more than 4,000 and the closure of 48 Boots Opticians stores".
Britain is in the final stages of rolling back nationwide coronavirus restrictions imposed on March 23, slowly reopening the hospitality and tourism industries.
The country has suffered Europe's deadliest virus outbreak, with nearly 45,000 deaths, and the worst economic downturn among the G7 leading industrialised countries.
The biog
Hometown: Cairo
Age: 37
Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror
Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing
Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Results
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: Rawat Al Reef, Adrie de Vries (jockey), Abdallah Al Hammadi (trainer)
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Noof KB, Richard Mullen, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: AF Seven Skies, Bernardo Pinheiro, Qaiss Aboud
6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Jabalini, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7pm: UAE Arabian Derby – Prestige (PA) Dh150,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Dergham Athbah, Richard Mullen, Mohamed Daggash
7.30pm: Emirates Championship – Group 1 (PA) Dh1,000,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Somoud, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roualle
8pm: Abu Dhabi Championship – Group 3 (TB) Dh380,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Irish Freedom, Antonio Fresu, Satish Seemar
The Bio
Amal likes watching Japanese animation movies and Manga - her favourite is The Ancient Magus Bride
She is the eldest of 11 children, and has four brothers and six sisters.
Her dream is to meet with all of her friends online from around the world who supported her work throughout the years
Her favourite meal is pizza and stuffed vine leaves
She ams to improve her English and learn Japanese, which many animated programmes originate in
Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics
UPI facts
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Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
The specs: 2018 Ducati SuperSport S
Price, base / as tested: Dh74,900 / Dh85,900
Engine: 937cc
Transmission: Six-speed gearbox
Power: 110hp @ 9,000rpm
Torque: 93Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 5.9L / 100km
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