Dutch online retailer Wehkamp cuts nearly 10% of it’s 1,100 jobs
Wehkamp, the struggling online retailer based in Zwolle, announced Monday it will eliminate about 10 percent of its workforce in a new round of job cuts aimed at simplifying the company’s operations and reducing costs, NOS reports.
The management disclosed to employees that 103 of the approximately 1,100 positions will be scrapped. The layoffs will mainly affect the headquarters in Zwolle and the office in Hilversum that manages the company’s own clothing line.
According to the board, most of the positions will disappear through natural attrition and by not renewing temporary contracts. Of the 103 jobs, 84 will be eliminated in this way. Several open vacancies will also remain unfilled.
The retailer has faced years of financial difficulties. Wehkamp posted a loss of nearly 8.7 million euros last year. Sales have declined for three consecutive years, and despite previous cost-cutting measures, the gap between expenses and revenue has reportedly widened.
“The ratio between costs and revenue has become unbalanced,” management said in a statement. The company attributed the problem mainly to changes in customer purchasing behavior and declining consumer confidence. Management emphasized that buying decisions must be more responsive and quicker to meet customer expectations.
Wehkamp, founded in 1952 by Herman Wehkamp in Slagharen as a mail-order mattress business, evolved into a major department store delivering a wide range of goods to consumers’ homes. In 2015, the company was acquired by a group of investors led by the British private equity firm Apax.
The early rise of e-commerce worked strongly in Wehkamp’s favor. A decade ago, the company opened a vast automated distribution center in Zwolle. In the warehouse, towering 26-story racks stretching 140 meters long, robots pick orders with minimal human intervention.
However, operations began to falter several years ago as customers increasingly ordered products in bulk, taking advantage of free returns. In response, Wehkamp became one of the first major online retailers to start charging fees for returning merchandise, a move many competitors avoided out of fear of losing sales. Last year, Wehkamp employed 948 staff, down from 1,158 the year before.
