H&M to close Edinburgh call centre, 150 jobs at risk

Swedish retail giant H&M is believed to have confirmed the closure of its Edinburgh call centre, potentially resulting in around 150 job cuts.

According to documents seen by the BBC, workers at the office were told in August of a proposal to shut the building due to the lease expiring in 2025.

The company was understood to have cited increased competition and operational costs for the closure, with operations expected to cease from December 14.

Employees were thus given two weeks notice of their dismissal, with the related consultations reportedly held between September and November of this year.

H&M did note that the number of at-risk jobs had been reduced as some employees had been offered alternative roles, moved on to other employment or chose to leave voluntarily.

A spokeswoman for H&M told the BBC: "We constantly evaluate how we operate to ensure that we deliver on our goals and contribute to the overall success of the company.

"Having looked into the scope of our customer service set-up, increased competition in the market, our customers changing behaviours and expectations and operational costs, we have made the difficult decision to proceed with the proposed closure of our customer service site in Edinburgh by the end of the year."