Dixons targets smaller office workforce

Dixons and Currys owner DSG International said today it planned to cut back on office-based posts as part of a drive for savings of around £20m (€29m).

The company, which employs more than 40,000 people in the UK and Europe, said it would look to achieve the reduction in its back-office headcount through normal staff turnover, rather than redundancies. A newspaper report today put the number of jobs involved at 1,000.

DSG is looking to save around £20m (€29m) in its 2006/07 financial year as it battles rising costs, including energy bills and higher rents.

At the same time it is looking to open an additional 60 stores in the UK and Europe during 2006 – employing up to 30 people each.

The moves emerged in the wake of half-year results and a Christmas trading update from the company, which also owns PC World, The Link and a clutch of other chains in Europe.

Profits fell in the six month period, but DSG received a share price boost after festive like-for-like sales grew ahead of City expectations, particularly at Dixons where the improvement was 8%.

Around 150 of the jobs will be removed through the outsourcing of internal IT support operations to a company with facilities in the UK and India.

DSG employs around 2,000 people at its Hemel Hempstead head office.

Retailers that have scaled back their workforce over the past year have included supermarket chain Asda and discount clothing firm Matalan.