Management at a £250 million turnover national tool wholesaler have completed a big redundancy programme.
Cromwell Tools has carried out a major restructuring among its 1,800 staff, as part of plans to “simplify its structure” and cut costs.
New accounts for Cromwell Tools Ltd show it made pre-tax losses last year of almost £5.9 million, compared to profits of £2.7 million in 2017.
The business originally said 200 to 250 jobs were at risk, with most of the losses at its main base in Chartwell Drive, Wigston, which is just outside Leicester.
A spokeswoman said they had managed to keep the final figure at “less than 10 per cent” of the total headcount.
Most of the losses were among “non-customer facing team members”.
The business opened a customer service centre in Dudley in 2018, centralising our customer service operations. While that created redundancies across the 海角视频 at the time, including some in Leicester, it also created more than 200 jobs in Dudley.
Today a spokeswoman for the company told Business-Live: “As mentioned before, the changes made to Cromwell are to help ensure we are fit for the future.
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“Our headcount reduction is lower than previously shared with you – less than 10 per cent of our total business headcount have left by means of redundancy, and we can confirm that we provided enhanced redundancy terms to those affected.
“Finally, we are very pleased with the contracts we have recently gained and are looking forward to partnering with more fantastic customers, supporting them to keep their operations running and their people safe.”
The business was founded at a house in Cromwell Crescent, Market Harborough, in 1968.
Today it has branches around the 海角视频 and abroad selling everything from maintenance and cutting tools to personal protection products, workbenches and tool pouches. The vast majority of its business is in the 海角视频.
It was ranked 22 on the Leicester Mercury’s 2019 list of Leicestershire’s Top 200 companies.
Four years ago it was sold to Chicago-based, Fortune 500 company firm WW Grainger Inc, in a £310 million deal.
The most recent accounts showed a turnover of £247 million in 2018 - on a par with 2017.
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One former member of staff said: “They have already started new shift patterns.
“Apparently they have got some more, bigger contracts, but there has still been a lot of upheaval.”