Up to 250 people could lose their jobs at one of the 海角视频’s biggest tool wholesalers.
Cromwell Tools, which has a turnover approaching £250 million, is proposing the cuts as part of plans to simplify its structure and cut costs.
It said most of the job losses will be in non-customer facing roles at its Wigston headquarters on the outskirts of Leicester.
Cromwell has been business for more than 50 years and now has branches around the 海角视频 and abroad.
It sells everything from maintenance and cutting tools to personal protection products, workbenches and tool pouches.
Four years ago it was sold to Chicago-based, Fortune 500 company firm WW Grainger Inc, in a £310 million deal.
Following the 2015 sale the business said: “The main change that our staff will see is opportunity.
“This deal is all about growth, and supporting the customers and staff we have today.”
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The most recent accounts for Cromwell Tools Limited showed a turnover of £247 million in 2017. It had pre-tax profits of £2.7 million, substantially down on the previous comparable period.
Today a spokeswoman for the business said: “Cromwell is investing in the business in areas that matter most to customers, including in digital, supply chain, customer service and more sales people.
“We are also working to take cost out of the business by simplifying our structure, to make it easier for customers to do business with us, while making the company appropriately sized for a £250 million business.
“This means that approximately 200 to 250 team members, mainly in non-customer-facing areas, could leave the company.
“These are proposed changes and we are in consultations with team members to hear their perspectives at this time.”
The business was formed at a house in Cromwell Crescent, Market Harborough, in 1968, when the founder bought seven toolboxes from an army surplus store and sold them on for a profit.
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The company spokeswoman said they wanted to be as transparent as possible during the redundancy consultation.
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She said: “We propose to offer an enhanced redundancy package for team members in addition to their contractual notice period, along with outplacement and other support.
“Cromwell has a clear strategy to remain a strong business for years to come.
“We are committed to being the easiest company to do business with, which includes offering the services and solutions customers need to keep their operations running and people safe.
“As with any healthy business we continue to invest in serving customers while taking cost out by simplifying our structure.
“Currently about 1,800 team members work for Cromwell globally and after constructive consultations, we expect about 200 redundancies.
“We are glad that this is on the lower end of our initial expectations.
“We opened our customer service Centre in Dudley in 2018 to centralise our customer service operations to help better serve customers.
“While this created redundancies across the 海角视频, with a few of them in Leicester, we also created more than 200 jobs in Dudley and new career opportunities for team members.”
One person familiar with the business, who wanted to stay anonymous, said: “I know people who work there and a couple of them have been made redundant and they’ve also been told 250 people are probably going to be made redundant.
“From what I know at the moment, people will hear in November whether they will be moved into another role or will lose their job entirely.”