Around 200 John Lewis employees are at risk of redundancy after the retailer unveiled plans to close its in-store foreign exchange bureaux and specialist gift-wrapping services.
The department store chain has begun consulting affected staff over the proposals, which would see bureau de change counters close in 30 stores and dedicated gift-wrapping desks shut in 25 locations.
If approved, the changes will take effect this autumn.
John Lewis said the move reflects changing shopping habits, with customers increasingly buying foreign currency online for home delivery or in-store collection. It also said more travellers are choosing to pay with bank cards or digital wallets overseas, reducing demand for in-store exchange services.
Gift wrapping will continue to be available, but will move from dedicated counters to store tills in a change the retailer said would make the service more accessible.
A spokesperson said: “Our customers are increasingly buying the broad range of currencies we offer online, and enjoying the convenience of having this delivered directly to their home or collecting it at one of our shops.”
“As we focus on modernising this proposition to meet our customers’ changing needs, we’re proposing to close our in-store foreign exchange bureaux as well as our gift wrapping service. As a result, we’re regretfully consulting with partners who currently deliver these services.”
The retailer said it would support employees throughout the consultation process and seek to redeploy staff wherever possible.
A job at John Lewis, which also owns Waitrose, was once considered one of the safest in retail.
The proposals come as John Lewis continues efforts to reshape the business under chairman Jason Tarry, who took over in 2024 after several difficult years for the employee-owned retailer, which included store closures and job cuts.
The latest changes follow annual results that showed a pre-tax loss of £21m, driven largely by £120m of one-off costs linked to write-downs of ageing technology systems.
Beneath those exceptional items, however, the retailer reported an improving performance, with underlying profits rising 6% to £134m as group sales increased 5 per cent to £13.4bn.
Waitrose continued to outperform the department store business, with sales climbing 7 per cent to £8.5bn in the year to the end of January, compared with a 3 per cent rise to £4.9bn at John Lewis stores.
Despite the proposed job losses, John Lewis remains one of the UK’s best-rated retailers for customer service, finishing second only to Nationwide in the latest UK Customer Satisfaction Index published by the Institute of Customer Service.
