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Comet administrators cut 735 jobs

Administrators to electronics retailer Comet have announced further job cuts of 735 as the store sells off its stock and closes down shops.

Deloitte’s joint administrators, Neville Kahn, Nick Edwards and Chris Farrington, announced that 41 Comet stores will be closed by the end of November unless a buyer is found.

Further discounts were made across 27 sites on Saturday, and a further 14 stores will be added to this list this week.

Chris Farrington, Joint Administrator, said: “We are very grateful to the Company’s employees for their professionalism, loyalty and support at this difficult time and all employees will of course continue to be paid for all the work they do while the Company is in Administration.”

A total of 603 employees have been made redundant from Comet’s home delivery network at sites up and down the country, including 66 people in Skelmersdale, 41 in Leeds and 33 in Exeter.

Comet’s head office also suffered 132 redundancies, it was announced today, and staff in Hull, Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire and Clevedon were affected.

Chris Farrington concluded: “It is unfortunately necessary to begin a store closure programme and to scale back the company’s support functions.

“While we will continue to do all we can to preserve jobs, we are working hard to put in place comprehensive support to help those employees who are made redundant during the Administration.

“This support includes connecting people to prospective employers who are keen to offer roles to ex-Comet staff, and providing assistance and workshops to help with job hunting skills, such as CV and cover letter writing and interview skills, to enhance their chances of securing new employment.”

Discussions are still underway between Deloitte and several parties who have expressed interest in different parts of the business.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .