John Lewis axed staff bonus for second time

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John Lewis axed staff bonus for second time

After what it described as a very tough year, John Lewis has axed its staffing bonus for a second time and signalled job cuts are in the pipeline. She said the losses meant bonuses could not be issued this year for the second time since it began the scheme in 1953.

She said that it will have an impact on our number of partners as we need to become more efficient and productive.

The customers of Waitrose spent less in the year to the end of January despite Waitrose reporting more shoppers. It said the average basket size fell by 15% and people were buying cheaper items.

John Lewis' cost of living crisis has hit hard, with worse-than-expected results. The customer numbers may be up but they are buying less, especially at Waitrose, which revealed a drop in volumes of 10% for the year.

The group is grappling with its own spiralling costs, up by nearly 180 m in a year, including higher energy bills and pay. As part of its plan to transform the business, it already has 300 m of savings to make. Chair Dame Sharon White wants to save another 600 m by 2026, according to the firm's chair. The business tries to become more efficient, and that will likely mean job losses.

She has appointed the Partnership's first chief executive to supercharge the transformation and get profits back on track. That is not an easy job in the current economic environment.

The decline in Waitrose sales was significant, said Ms Shuttleworth. Volumes are the lifeblood of supermarket businesses - the more you sell, the better the prices you can offer to shoppers.

One glimmer of hope is that shoppers are back in department stores with sales up 20% - the strategy to invest more in a reduced store network is working especially at seasonal peak, particularly Christmas.