Redundancy consultation for 150 staff at W H Smith head offices

One hundred and fifty members of staff at W H Smith's head offices in London and Swindon have entered redundancy consultations, the retailer has confirmed to The Bookseller.

A company spokesperson said these redundancy consultations only affected those at the head offices rather than shop floor staff.

"It has been an incredibly difficult decision for the business and we will be supporting all our colleagues through this," the spokesperson said.

There has been no confirmation on whether the book-buying team is among those affected.

W H Smith temporarily closed 60% of stores during the recent lockdown period, keeping only Post Office and hospital stores open.

In March it issued a profit warning, and in April moved to raise cash through new lending and an equity issue.

The development comes in the week that many other retailers, including John Lewis, Top Shop owner Arcadia and Harrods, announced job losses.