Boots to axe a further 600 jobs to halve HQ workforce

Health and beauty giant Boots plans to slash another 600 jobs, halving the workforce at its Nottingham head office. Chief executive Richard Baker also hopes to outsource some central functions.

Last week, Boots announced the loss of 900 jobs at its 3,000-strong head office. Baker told staff that more cuts are on the way to make Boots leaner and more competitive.

In an internal announcement, Baker told staff: 'To give you a sense of the future size of head office, I would expect it to be around half its current size over the next 18 months or so.' He continued: 'We have a number of areas of the business where we are exploring the possibility of outsourcing.'

A Boots spokesman said that the next round of job cuts was a 'general proposal' and would not comment on the aspects of the business likely to be outsourced. In 2002, Boots outsourced 400 IT roles to IBM and its catering to Aramark.

RW Baird retail analyst Paul Smiddy said: 'More important than the headcount numbers is for Boots to get a much faster speed of response. Every supplier that I have talked to says that the speed of response is too slow compared with the competition.'

The job cuts announced last week are expected to cost Boots£47 million, but the retailer would not comment on the cost of a further 600.

Like-for-likes at the core Boots The Chemists chain rose by 4.1 per cent for the third quarter to December 31.