Thousands of jobs at risk as Edinburgh Woollen Mill set to appoint administrators

Published: 9 October 2020

Post Desk : Thousands of jobs are at risk at Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group after it filed a notice to appoint administrators and warned of “significant cuts and closures”.

The high street fashion chain, which owns Peacocks and Jaeger, has 24,000 staff.

It has now lodged a notice of intention to appoint administrators to look for potential buyers as it attempts to keep the business afloat.

Bosses told staff on Friday morning that national and local coronavirus lockdowns had hit sales hard.

The company also blamed allegations, which it denies, that it and several rivals failed to pay some Bangladeshi suppliers during lockdown in an attempt to cut the cost of clothes they were unlikely to sell.

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For now, EWM Group’s stores will continue trading while insolvency specialists spend 10 days preparing an urgent review ahead of further action.

The action will be announced later.