Advanced Supply Chain Group cuts jobs in face of COVID-19 pandemic

Logistics firm Advanced Supply Chain Group is to cut around 30 jobs in the face of the coronavirus outbreak just days after slamming the government for making its rescue funding for firms hit by the pandemic far too complex.

The redundancies come just nine months after the Bradford-based logistics firm opened a second depot in Corby and boosted staff numbers from 350 to 450.

The company, which specialises in the fashion retail logistics sector, counts brands such as Debenhams, Dwell, Next, Asda and DFS among its customers.

In a statement issued to MT today (23 March), the company confirmed it had made redundancies but did not confirm exact numbers. It said: “These actions were taken with great reluctance and before we could see any immediate government support.

“We’re working hard to protect more than 1,300 jobs and push beyond the current downturn in the retail sector.

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“Wherever possible, we’ve worked to retain and redeploy staff within the group and also with other local companies who have current vacancies to assist staff in finding roles.

“We’ve also adapted our business to support supermarkets' and wholesalers’ transport operations to help with their supply chain pressures while protecting drivers’ jobs.

"It is our intention, and our sincerest hope, that with the promised government support, we will not need to make any further redundancies.”

Last week the company’s founder Mike Danby described the Prime Minister’s daily coronavirus briefings and the Chancellor’s £12bn support package as “nothing more than a soap opera”.

Pointing to the Covid-19 Commercial Financing Facility (CCFF) which the Treasury set up to support businesses hit by the pandemic, he said he had not seen “such mind-boggling jargon” in the 30 years he had been in business.

Calling for the application process to be clearer, he warned that companies will not be able get the financial support they need in time, adding that, without the right support, he feared that all the progress Advance Supply Chain Group has made over the past five years could be “wiped out in weeks".