Moray business Johnstons of Elgin ‘worked hard’ to mitigate job losses
Johnstons of Elgin says it has “worked hard” to mitigate job losses after it was revealed last month that the world-famous brand was set to axe dozens of jobs.
Consultations are now complete and it is understood that the Elgin-based luxury clothing brand and woollen mill has made 22 compulsory redundancies. These people left the business on October 18.
The business has also made 18 voluntary redundancies and has redeployed around 15 others.
The decision to make redundancies was made due to an unexpected reduction in sales in 2024 with Johnstons also revising its future projections for 2025 downward.
That saw the business consult with its workforce in Elgin to restructure the workforce “in line with current and expected future demand”.
A spokesperson for Johnstons of Elgin told The Northern Scot: “It is of course a difficult process to go through when colleagues leave the business, but our consultative group have worked hard to make the process fair and to mitigate many of the losses through voluntary redundancies and redeployment.
“We are aware of other local businesses that are hiring, so we hope that those impacted will find other opportunities soon.
“The growth that we have seen since the pandemic means that our overall workforce has grown from 829 at the end of 2020 to 1,084 after these changes.
“We have taken these difficult decisions now to be in a position to sustain that level of employment and to put the company in a position to return to growth in future as the market improves."
Unite the Union had a formal meeting with Johnstons after news of the redundancies broke.
The union said it would “fight tooth and nail” to avoid compulsory redundancies.
Its focus will now be on helping those who have been made redundant find new roles.
Marc Jackson, Unite industrial officer, said: “Unite has worked tirelessly to save as many jobs as possible at Johnstons of Elgin.
“The objective was to stave off as many compulsory redundancies from the 65 that were originally earmarked.
“We have been successful in saving dozens of jobs through negotiations with Johnstons.
“All efforts will now go into helping people find alternative jobs in the local area for those who now unfortunately find themselves out of work.”