John Lewis 'views cutting 11,000 jobs' as a huge potential blow to 10% of the workforce

The owner of John Lewis and Waitrose is reportedly considering cutting 11,000 jobs over the next five years.

Sources say this is at least 10 percent John Lewis Partnership's 76,000-strong workforce could be spread across the group's headquarters, supermarkets and department stores.

Department heads are working on plans and the number of positions in the company is expected to be gradually reduced over a number of years through layoffs and failure to replace staff who leave, reports the Guardian.

Another source said this figure had been informed by some managers to select staff as the company struggles to bounce back from a £230m full-year loss.

John Lewis warned of possible job cuts in March last year as part of a plan to reduce costs and usage technology to improve efficiency.

The group has already cut thousands jobs partially through store closuresincluding 16 department stores and several supermarkets in recent years.

The 159 year old retail Group has faced intense competition and the costs of developing its online offering in recent years.

The scale of the potential job losses emerged after the John Lewis Partnership (JLP), which is owned by its staff through a trust, wrote to employees this week to tell them it was halving the terms of the redundancy package.

They offered one week's pay per year of service instead of two for anyone laid off from February 1.

The announcement came shortly after several senior executives left on the more generous deal.

JLP told staff it was making the change because the current package was “higher than typical market practice and entails very high costs.”

It said it needed to “free up cash” with “more affordable” policies.

John Lewis has been approached for comment by The Sun.

Your rights upon dismissal

Companies may choose to reduce their workforce and employees must understand their rights.

You are only entitled to statutory severance pay if you have worked in your position for two years or longer.

The statutory rate is based on your age, weekly wage and number of years of employment.

You will get:

• Half a week's wages for every full year you worked under the age of 22
• One week's pay for every full year you worked, if you were 22 years or older, but younger than 41
• One and a half weeks' pay for every full year you worked when you were 41 years or older.

But it is limited to 20 years and the maximum redundancy pay you can get is currently £16,320.

Some companies may offer to pay more than the legal amount. This is usually stated in your contract.

Moreover, at the end of your notice period, you are still entitled to the wages you still owe for untaken vacation days.

The government has one calculator on the website to help you work out how much you owe.