Anger after 85 jobs axed at Coventry firm which runs Lloyds Pharmacy

[dutchman]

Dozens of jobs have been axed at Coventry-based Celesio UK, which runs Lloyds Pharmacy and AAH Pharmaceuticals.



A total of 85 positions have been lost as part of a restructure at the firm’s national support centre in Sapphire Court at the Walsgrave Triangle.

No jobs have been lost at any branches of the popular high street chemist.

One worker, who was told their role was redundant, claimed those affected were offered a payout, given a week to decide and told if they chose not to accept the offer it would be withdrawn.

Speaking about the restructure, which began in mid-March and ended on Friday, April 8, the worker, who does not wish to be named chose to accept redundancy.

They said: “Colleagues were literally tapped on the shoulder by their line manager and called into offices where a HR representative was present.

“You were told your role’s redundant and a pack was pushed across the table.

“You were given a statutory redundancy figure but they were putting around three times that on the table.

“We were given one week to make our decision and at the end of that told the offer would be withdrawn - any offer after that would be statutory and it would go into a second stage of consultation.

“We were left between a rock and a hard place - it was pretty hard-ball.

“It has happened before but this time is the only time it was handled so brutally.

“A lot of people just walked out of the building there and then.

“I felt I was given no choice, though some people were given the option of moving into a lower position.”

The former worker said they believed more than 100 people were affected in roles across the board, from administrative to management and even director level, but the company said 85 roles have gone.

The worker claimed there was now a secondary process taking place where people were “being shoe-horned into new jobs”.

The worker said they believed the restructure was in part prompted by changes to the Government’s community pharmacy service, which is set for a massive reduction in funding.

They said: “The Government’s community pharmacy service has taken a cut from the Treasury, the contract has been reduced by about six per cent in terms of funding.

“The amount that takes out nationally could be as much as £340million a year.

“Lloyds has about 11-12 per cent of the community pharmacy contract - and the firm says the bottom line will be affected by £40million.

“To be fair the company had to do a reorganisation, some of the departments had to be trimmed. The business has to do what it needs to do to survive - I get that.”

However, they added that they believed the move was also prompted by the acquisition of the European parent company Celesio by US pharmaceutical wholesaling giant McKesson at the beginning of 2014.

“It’s not too dissimilar to the Cadbury story,” they said. “You get a large US organisation which rocks up and invests but then wants to cut costs.”

A spokesman for Celesio UK said: “Due to market challenges, including the impact of government action on funding, we have had to review our business and make some organisational changes to help us operate more efficiently.

“As a result of this restructure we are removing a number of roles across the support centre affecting around 85 colleagues. Patient-facing roles are not affected.

“Careful consideration has been given to the changes to minimise the impact on colleagues and to ensure we continue to meet the needs of our patients and customers both now and in the future.”

The latest job cuts follow on from a restructure in summer 2012 when the business made a swathe of redundancies as a result of merging the head office functions of Lloyds Pharmacy and AAH Pharmaceuticals.

[rebbonk]

Shedding labour is always difficult. I personally believe that the quick and brutal way is long-term best for both sides. And despite what many may think, it's never an easy decision or action to take for the manager.