(Sharecast News) - Premium chocolatier Hotel Chocolat has begun a formal redundancy consultation, putting jobs at risk as it plans to take the business in a "leaner and more competitive direction".
According to a leaked letter seen by Grocery Gazette, the official consultancy process began on 21 February when staff were told their roles were at risk due to the process which "may lead to changes or to them leaving the business".
In the letter, the chocolatier said it was "operating with a backdrop of calmer growth plans and increasing costs".
"In line with the shape of our future plan we've taken steps to build more collaboration, cost-efficiency and profitability into our model. The next major step on this journey is organising ourselves for sustainable success in 2023 and beyond," it said.
"The decision to impact colleagues is not taken lightly. This means we need to make some changes to the way we organise that may involve fewer members of the team. Our business plan has evolved to focus on more careful growth, and we will now work through a formal consultation process."
A Hotel Chocolat employee told Grocery Gazette that an emergency notice was issued to all staff at 10.30am the day before the announcement, asking all staff to attend a briefing. They were then given an official letter and timeline, along with contact numbers for mental health charities.
Hotel Chocolat told Sharecast: "We recognise this is a difficult time for our team as we consult with them on the proposal, and we are supporting them at this time. This decision has not been taken lightly.
"After careful consideration, the changes we are proposing are part of the next phase in our journey towards sustainable success for the years ahead."
