Britain’s John Lewis to close 8 more stores, impacting 1,464 jobs By Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) – British retailer the John Lewis Partnership plans to close eight John Lewis department stores and they will not reopen when the current COVID-19 lockdown ends, impacting 1,464 jobs, it said on Tuesday.

The country’s biggest employee-owned group had warned earlier this month that more of its stores would be permanently closed after the “economic earthquake” of the pandemic sent it to a 517 million pound ($709 million) annual loss.

The group said it will enter into consultation with the affected workers, or partners as it calls them, about the latest proposed closures.

It closed eight stores last July, impacting 1,300 jobs.

The partnership said its remaining 34 John Lewis shops will reopen from April 12 subject to government guidance – with the exception of Glasgow, which will reopen from April 26, and Edinburgh, which will reopen on May 14.

($1 = 0.7293 pounds)