Bonus cut for John Lewis staff

JOHN LEWIS and Waitrose staff saw their bonuses cut for the first time in three years today.

The employee-owned group proved it too was affected by the harsh economic climate which has seen many retailers struggling to survive.

John Lewis Partnership, which has more than 75,000 staff, unveiled a payout of 14 per cent of salary from a bonus pot of £165.2 million, compared with 18 per cent last year from a bonus pot of £194.5 million.

Each worker - from weekend check-out assistants to chairman Charlie Mayfield - receives the same percentage of salary as a bonus.

The lower bonus came as the group recorded a 4 per cent decrease in pre-tax, pre-bonus profits to £353.8 million after efforts to bring in more customers through its price-matching campaigns hit earnings.

Mr Mayfield said: “Profound changes are taking place in the retail sector and importantly this was a year when we upped the pace of innovation and investment.

“That came at the price of some short-term profit but leaves us in a good place at the start of this year.”

He said events such as the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games would hopefully provide a lift for consumers.

Supermarket Waitrose, which has 272 branches and saw its market share increase by 0.2 per cent to 4.1 per cent in the period, achieved a 7.9 per cent increase in sales excluding VAT to £5.1 billion.

The supermarket opened 29 new branches in the period.

But operating profit for the year was down 5 per cent to £260.6 million as investments in store space and new formats held back earnings.