Retail giant the John Lewis Partnership has revealed a return to annual profit, but said it would not hand out a staff bonus once again.
The group – which owns the John Lewis department stores and Waitrose supermarket chain – reported pre-tax profits of £56m for the year to January 27 against losses of £234m in the previous year.
It said that after “careful consideration” it would not pay its workers an annual bonus for the second year running, but said it would increase overall pay for employees by a record £116m this year.
This marks only the third time since 1953 that the group has not paid out an annual staff bonus.
The group said it cut costs by £88m in the past financial year, with changes to staff hours and “simplified ways of working” across shops and central teams.
It said it would look to increase investment in 2024-25 by 70% to £542m, which will focus on modernising technology, refreshing its shops and simplifying the group.
The group is reportedly mulling a 10% cut in its workforce, accounting for around 11,000 staff jobs, which would be axed over the next five years as part of aims to save £900m by 2027-28.
