WH Smith deals bitter blow to jobs market as sales slump

WH Smith (LON:SMWH) dealt another blow to the ailing UK jobs market as it revealed that it could cut as many as 1,500 jobs as it restructures its UK operations in the wake of Covid-19.

Total group revenue in July slumped 57%, with travel revenue down 73% and High Street sales 25% lower. WH Smith said that although sales have started to recover gradually as lockdown restrictions ease around the world, they are still “materially down” compared to last year.

Chief executive Carl Cowling commented: “In our travel business, while we are beginning to see early signs of recovery in some of our markets, the speed of recovery continues to be slow. At the same time, while there has been some progress in our High Street business, it does continue to be adversely affected by low levels of footfall.

“As a result, we now need to take further action to reduce costs across our businesses. I regret that this will have an impact on a significant number of colleagues whose roles will be affected by these necessary actions, and we will do everything we can to support them at this challenging time.”

WH Smith shares were 9.5p better at 995p (as at 14:12 BST).