Around 200 John Lewis staff could lose their jobs after the retailer announced plans to close its in-store bureaux de change and dedicated gift-wrapping areas, blaming falling demand and a shift to digital payments.
The upmarket department store chain said no final decision had been made, but the redundancies would happen this autumn if the proposals are approved. The money exchange closure will affect 30 shops, while the gift-wrapping service will be moved to tills in 25 stores.
“John Lewis plans to cut 200 jobs by closing in-store foreign exchange and gift-wrapping services, blaming falling demand.”
A spokesperson said the company would support affected staff “throughout the consultation process and support redeployment where possible”. They added: “As we focus on modernising this proposition to meet our customers’ changing needs, we’re proposing to close our in-store foreign exchange bureaus as well as our gift wrapping service. As a result, we’re regretfully consulting with partners who currently deliver these services.”
The retailer said customers were increasingly ordering foreign currency online and collecting it in store, or using credit cards and digital payments abroad. Moving gift wrapping to the tills, it added, would make the service “more accessible”.
The news comes after a turbulent period for John Lewis under chair Jason Tarry, who took over in 2024. The group closed its housebuilding arm in February, leading to further job losses, but in March announced it would award staff a bonus for the first time in four years after profits improved. The bonus had been scrapped during the Covid pandemic, the first such break since 1953.
John Lewis’s latest results show a pre-tax loss of £21m, driven by £120m in one-off costs linked to write-downs in the value of old tech systems. Underlying profits, however, rose 6% to £134m, while sales across the business increased 5% to £13.4bn. Growth was stronger at Waitrose, where supermarket sales rose 7% to £8.5bn, compared with a 3% rise to £4.9bn at department stores.
The job cuts, if confirmed, will mark another round of restructuring for the employee-owned partnership, which has already closed several stores and shed roles in recent years.
