Car dealer Lookers to axe 1500 jobs

Major car dealer Lookers said it will close another 12 forecourts and cut 1500 jobs as it moves to cut costs by £50 million.

Late last year Lookers identified 15 dealerships for closure. Today it said a further 12 will have to go, taking its total down to 136.

That comes as a fraud investigation comes to a head.

The statement to the stock market today said: “The board engaged Grant Thornton LLP to undertake an investigation, supported by an internal team. Initially, the review focused on the operating division concerned and subsequently this was extended across all operating divisions to ensure the completeness of the review.

“The Grant Thornton investigation is now nearing completion. A draft report is now under review and verification by the board ahead of Grant Thornton preparing their final report. The draft report is also with the Auditors for review in the context of the 2019 audit opinion.”

Lookers CEO Mark Raban said: ‘We are having to reflect on the outlook for the group and how we must adapt to ensure a positive future in what is likely to remain an uncertain economic and industry environment.

“Against this backdrop we have taken the decision to restructure the size of the group’s dealership estate to position the business for a sustainable future, which regrettably means redundancy consultation with a number of our colleagues.”