JOHN Lewis staff at the Westgate Centre in Oxford are getting their annual bonus but it has been cut back.
The John Lewis Partnership has cut its staff bonus to the lowest level in 66 years, as it said underlying profits had fallen.
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The department store chain opened a new branch as the flagship store at the revamped £440m Westgate Centre in October 2017, employing about 300 staff.
The company said 83,900 workers, known as partners because they jointly own the business, would receive a bonus worth three per cent of annual pay. All partners, from leading executives to Saturday shelf stackers, receive the same bonus.
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Last year the bonus was five per cent of annual pay after profits plunged at the group, which includes the John Lewis department stores and Waitrose supermarkets.
This year’s bonus cut came as underlying profits fell 45.4 per cent to £160m in the year to the end of January. The bonus was first paid in 1920.
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Sir Charlie Mayfield, the chairman of the group, said: “The market context continues to be challenging.”
The company closed five Waitrose shops last year but none in Oxfordshire.
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