Restructuring events
European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
Debenhams, the UK-based department store chain has confirmed that seven of its stores in England will not reopen after the COVID-19 lockdown, making 422 jobs redundant. The announcement came after the company entered administration on 9 April.
The CEO of Debenhams said that 120 stores will continue to operate, while talks about the future of another 15 stores are still in progress. He thanked the employees affected by the redundancies for their hard work.
Debenhams is one of the oldest department store chains in Britain with its origins going back to 1778. Over the past year the company has closed 22 of its stores, resulting in about 700 job losses.
Update 27/04/2020:Debenhams has announced that another four of its UK stores will close permanently when the coronavirus restrictions end, making further 239 retail jobs redundant. The affected stores are located in: Borehamwood, Kidderminster, Swindon and Southampton. The total number of redundancies is currently at 661.
Update 07/05/2020: Debenhams has announced that further five stores will close permanently when the coronavirus restrictions end, making 1,000 jobs redundant. The affected stores are located in: Birmingham, Croydon, Glasgow (Silverburn shopping centre), Leicester and Reading. The total number of redundancies is currently at 1,661.
Update 28/05/2020: Debenhams has made further job cuts by closing the majority of cafés inside its department stores and reducing the number of workers in its head office in central London. The total number of redundancies is currently at 4,000.
Update 15/06/2020: The management and the administrators of Debenhams have announced that a further three stores in Milton Keynes, Watford and Gateshead (Metrocentre) will close permanently, making 300 staff redundant. The stores will close because Debenhams could not agree with the landlord about the terms and conditions of renting space in their shopping centres. The total number of redundancies is currently at 4,300.
Update 11/08/2020: Debenhams has announced a further 2,500 redundancies at its stores and distribution centre in the UK in response to the negative impact the coronavirus crisis. The trade union Usdaw, representing shop workers, said the job cuts were made without following the legal procedures. The total number of redundancies is currently at 6,800.
Eurofound (2020), Debenhams, Bankruptcy in United Kingdom, factsheet number 100252, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://dev.eurofound.europa.eu/restructuring-events/detail/100252.
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