Health and beauty giant Boots is to cut 240 UK positions as it moves to combine two support offices.

Boots UK told staff on Wednesday of the cuts, which will involve the loss of 100 positions at its Nottingham office, with the remainder of the cuts being made at its site at Feltham in Middlesex.

A Boots UK spokeswoman said the move had nothing to do with trading conditions or the economic downturn. She said: “As a further step in the integration of Boots UK, the support offices in Nottingham and Feltham will now work more simply and efficiently, with aligned processes and systems in place.

“It is therefore anticipated that fewer roles will be needed in the support offices as further integration takes place. These changes will take place gradually over the next two years.”

The number of staff to lose their jobs should be less than 240 as some roles are vacant at present and there will also be natural wastage, she added. She declined to comment on which departments would experience cuts and said that the retailer continues to create roles at store level.