UK retailer Debenhams to shut five stores, may cut 1,400 jobs

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(Reuters) – British department store group Debenhams will shut down five of its stores in Hammerson (L:HMSO) shopping centres leading to potentially 1,400 job cuts, its spokesman told Reuters on Wednesday, as the retailer battles the coronavirus crisis.

The likely 6% cut in its workforce comes as the retailer went into administration last month for the second time in a year, seeking to protect itself from legal action by creditors during the pandemic that could have pushed it into liquidation.

With Britain in lockdown during the pandemic, Debenhams’ 142 UK stores are closed, while the majority of its 22,000 workers are being paid under the government’s furlough scheme. The company continues to trade online.

Debenhams’ spokesman said the company would shut down stores in Hammerson’s centres, including Bullring and Oracle (NYSE:ORCL).

Last month, an industry body said that British retailers suffered their biggest fall in sales since the 2008 financial crisis in the first half of April as the pandemic kept shoppers at home and forced store closures.

Fashion retailers Oasis Warehouse Group and Laura Ashley Holdings (L:ALY) also went into administration in recent months.