For some anyway, Barratts priceless has announced that due
lower than expected profits in the last quarter it has been forced to make
1,610 of its employees redundant (a third of its staff). The news comes at a
time when Deloitte the administrative company are looking for a buyer for Barratts
173 high street stores and although some of the redundancies may get
re-employed it will remain as a distant hope for many.
In other bad news for employees in the UK, Focus DIY has revealed
that over the next year, 3,000 jobs will have to be cut, reducing their
workforce by over 75%. Employees of Thorntons chocolates are also going to be
hit with 180 stores planned to be closed over the next three years. This means
job losses are going to be a certainty. Whilst, perhaps the most potentially
damaging of all the company failures for employees going into 2012 is Blacks
leisure being forced to appeal for a buyer. If the company fails to find a
buyer then it will almost certainly be forced to close its 313 outlets and make
all of its 3,885 employees redundant.
Heading into 2012 employment is predicted to rise as high
2.84million and with inflation at the rate it is, 2012 looks set to be a
tougher year than could possibly be expected for most.