THG to axe 171 roles as staff ordered to return to office full-time

THG is reportedly set to axe 171 jobs across the business whilst “insisting” that staff return to the office five days a week, The Financial Times has reported. The company is said to have told employees this week that it expected to make a total of 171 redundancies across six divisions, including beauty and nutrition, according to a memo seen by the outlet. The news comes after the group cut almost a third of its workforce to around 7,000 people over the last two years amid a cost-saving review. The FT reported that the memo said THG was “proposing to restructure a number of business areas to ensure we remain in the best possible shape to continue to deliver sustainable growth, profitability and cash generation”, acknowledging it was a “difficult time” for those affected. According to a separate memo seen by the FT, THG also said all employees would have to be in the office five days a week from 19 August. However, staff had previously been told there would be flexibility to work from home one day a week on a case-by-case basis from January. THG reportedly blamed the changes on an “inconsistent adherence” to its policy, saying it was detrimental to the culture of the group and its ability to make decisions. It added that formal flexible working agreements that were already in place would continue to apply but “may be subject to review” in the future. Earlier this year, it was reported that THG planned to cut 160 jobs across its marketing, sales and warehouse departments. It was understood that roughly 60 marketing and sales roles are due to be dismissed at the retailer’s online and tech business. In addition, reports said the group planned to cut the remaining 100 roles at its Warrington warehouse after the automation of its factories. Despite the job cuts, THG reported its best quarter of the year earlier in January, as sales rose 1.1% to £597.9m across Q4. The group attributed this performance to strong sales across the beauty division, including Cult Beauty and Perricone MD, which delivered growth of 2.6% to £387m in the quarter. In addition, THG reported that losses before tax narrowed to £252m during the year ending 31 December 2023, down from £549.7m the year prior. The news comes despite total group revenues falling 8.4% after the group’s decision to “discontinue loss-making categories”. A THG spokesperson said: “THG is committed to continuously improving operational efficiency as a business to best serve our global customer base. “As part of this continuing focus, THG is restructuring some business areas to ensure we continue to leverage recent investments, including in automation, technology and AI. Subject to the ongoing consultation, these changes will likely result in a limited number of roles becoming redundant. Whilst this is regrettable, THG will support all affected colleagues and seek to offer them an alternative role within the group.”