‘Fight to save jobs’

Unite said today (December 10) it will ‘fight to save’ as many Clarks’ jobs as possible after the shoe retailer announced 170 global job cuts.

The redundancies, which will impact Clarks’ office staff, are part of a restructuring under recently appointed CEO Giorgio Presca, with 80 job losses anticipated at the firm’s headquarters in Street, Somerset.

Unite represents a significant number of staff in Street as well as in other locations throughout the UK.

Unite regional officer Gareth Lowe said, “These job losses are terrible news for Clarks’ workers, especially so close to Christmas.

“Clarks is Street’s biggest employer so these redundancies will be keenly felt in the local area,” he added. “The news is no less bad for staff in other parts of the UK who will also be impacted.

“We are working with our members and the employer to ensure the interests of our members are fully represented as these plans are implemented, and we will fight to save as many jobs as possible.

“Unite is in consultation with Clarks to minimise any potential compulsory redundancies.”