New Look: Jobs at risk at Newcastle-under-Lyme distribution centre

New Look has closed more than 150 of its stores since 2017

About 500 people are at risk of redundancy at a distribution centre in Staffordshire, under plans by fashion retailer New Look.

The firm said the move followed an increase in online trading and rebalancing of its store estate.

As a result, it said it would change working hours at the depot on Lymedale Business Park, in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Cutting the night shift means putting 503 roles at risk out of a workforce of 1,200.

"Regrettably, we expect this will result in a number of redundancies at the site," a spokesperson for New Look said.

"We are focusing on supporting our affected colleagues at this time and we expect to be able to offer a considerable number of these individuals new roles on the day shift."

Pandemic struggle

The firm said as part of that it expected to create 300 new jobs during day shifts, which would be discussed with affected colleagues.

It said the consultation period would start imminently, with redundancies expected to take effect from mid May.

Like many fashion retailers, New Look struggled for survival during the pandemic.

This month it announced seven store closures, on top of more than 150 in the past six years.