Boots to Cut 700 Jobs Amid Operational Overhaul

The high street chemist chain Boots has revealed its plan to cut 700 jobs from its operation as part of an overhaul of its business across the UK and Ireland.

Boots describes its ongoing restructuring efforts as a “transformation of its business” being driven by the “rapidly changing needs of its customers”.

Specifically, the company is aiming to run its nationwide operations with greater efficiency and to deliver higher standards of care to customers who use its chemists throughout the British Isles.

The 700 roles set to be phased out relate to non-store roles, with Boots expecting to see the job cuts achieved through “a combination of natural attrition, redeployment, retraining and redundancy”.

Statements on the subject from Boots explain that the company is keen to become what it calls “a true omni-channel retailer”, with investments expected in new technologies and customer engagement established as a clear priority across the business.

“Boots has an incredible heritage of delivering care and support to communities across the UK for over 165 years,” said Boots’ president Simon Roberts in a statement.

“While we have continued to deliver a solid performance in recent years, despite challenging market conditions, we cannot be complacent and must be stronger and more agile going forward.”

Around half of the jobs to be shed by Boots in the coming months are positions currently filled by staff based at the company’s headquarters in Beeston, Nottingham.

Potential jobs losses will only affect staff based in the UK and not those working for the company in the Republic of Ireland.

There are close to 2,500 Boots stores across the British Isles, with a total of almost 60,000 people employed across the business, around 4,000 of whom are based in at the company’s Nottingham headquarters.

“We have not taken these decisions lightly, and understand the impact that today’s announcement may have on our colleagues,” said Simon Roberts.

“We are fully committed to doing everything we can to support all our people as we transform Boots and strive to be even better for our customers and patients,” he said.