Bosses at Nottinghamshire-based Wilko speak out following news of 95 job losses at contact centre

Wilko’s new CEO Mark Jackson has announced a new senior leadership team, as the household and garden retailer implements its plan to stabilise the business and accelerate the turnaround.

He said: “We’ve already begun our turnaround programme to drive Wilko forward. As part of this we quickly identified significant changes to the Wilko operating model to enable us to stabilise the business, and then thrive again."

He told your Guardian that three key priorities have been set within the new strategic plan:

• Getting the business in better shape;
• Drive sales both instore and online;
• Driving down operating costs.

The company is also instigating a more streamlined senior management structure.

He continued: “To deliver our strategic priorities we must remain focused, and our leadership structure needs to be fully aligned to achieve this.

"Having now reviewed the current structure, we need to remove both the duplication of functions and operating costs. As part of this review, we’ve had to take some necessary and difficult decisions as we create a new operating structure that helps stabilise the business, from which we can then drive the business forward.

“Having now announced the new top leadership functions, we’ve already begun conversations with the senior management team and wider organisation to implement the new structure. This includes some changes to our management structure at both our stores and head office. Right now, we’re unable to confirm the scale of change as conversations are ongoing but it will mean a number of roles will be made redundant to support the wider plan.

“We’re fully supporting affected individuals as a result of these changes. Such change will be unsettling to our team members and the wider business, and we’re acting swiftly to put in place the new organisational structure.”

The 93-year-old business is the UK’s 23rd biggest retailer, employing 16,000 team members. It operates 400 stores across the UK and serves customers through wilko.com.