John Lewis to axe nearly 800 jobs

The department store chain is consulting 733 people about redundancy in its customer restaurants and store administration departments as it attempts to cut costs.

John Lewis has not revealed which stores are affected but said it planned to move some administration roles out of stores and into its office in Didsbury, Manchester.

It is also axing chefs, as it switches away from preparing food at in-store cafes in favour of having ready-made dishes delivered by external suppliers.

Dino Rocos, operations director at John Lewis, said the proposals will "allow us to modernise our business as it adapts to the changing needs of our customers and the role that shops play."

“The proposed new structure will allow us to harness partners’ knowledge and skills, giving them more scope to be in the right place at the right time to deliver great service."