Hundreds of jobs at risk as Asos tackles customer support costs

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Mar 16, 2020

Asos has entered into a period of consultation with staff regarding potential jobs cuts at its customer care centre in Leavesden.

In a letter sent to staff, the online fashion retailer said it is outsourcing its night-time operations to a third-party, in a move that could potentially impact hundreds of jobs.

About 150 people work night-time rotations at the customer centre, dealing with customer enquiries and complaints, said local news reports.

Asos has confirmed the consultation, but declined to provide further information.

The company said that its global expansion has led to discussions about how the customer care operation is handled, particularly at night.

Customer demand during night hours, from 8pm to 7am, is not consistent, “leading to regular periods of low productivity and proportionally high running costs”, the letter said.

Profits at the clothing business plunged by 68% in the year to 31 August 2019 as various IT problems at its warehouses in Germany and the US sent costs soaring.

During the following four months, the company focused on restoring consistent operational execution and said its operational performance improved significantly, allowing it to see record sales during Black Friday.

Asos’s websites attracted nearly 240 million visits during December 2019, and the number of active customers reached 21.7 million.