Major car dealership with 70 UK sites is ‘planning to cut hundreds of jobs across the country’ in need to reduce costs
HUNDREDS of Brits are set to lose their jobs as a car dealership powerhouse plans to cut staff by 10 per cent.
The news comes as they admitted to "challenges" to UK operations and will now look to shift off current staff members for good.
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The company said they are focussing on reducing costs in the year's first quarterCredit: Alamy
Car dealership Group 1 Automotive, which owns more than 70 car dealerships in the UK said the cuts will come into play within months.
The business said on Wednesday that it plans to reduce its UK headcount by around 10 per cent in the first quarter of this year - which would have an impact on around 300 people.
According to fillings at Companies House, Group 1's main UK subsidiary employed 3,409 people in 2022, the last year data is available for.
Chief executive of the US-based parent company, Daryl Kenningham, said: "We experienced challenges in our UK operations during the current quarter with used vehicles and recognise we have some work ahead of us to bring our costs back in-line with recent trends.
"We are focused on reducing costs in the UK in the first quarter of 2024, with an expectation of reducing our UK headcount by approximately 10 per cent."
Of the company's employees, 1,663 worked in its production arm in 2022, a further 1,253 in distribution and 493 in management and administration.
Group 1's UK dealerships are focused around the south-east of England.
The company first entered the UK market in 2007 by buying BMW and MINI dealerships.
The redundancies will come despite UK revenue rising 9.5 per cent to £2.4billion ($3.1billion) across 2023 and gross profit hitting a record high of £323.3 million ($410.1 million).
It's the last thing Brits want to hear during the current cost of living crisis while they struggle to keep up with rising bills on their every-day needs.
